Digestion

overview:
presents the physiology of digestion and
nutrition, including:
anatomical views and digestive parts identification
the process of digestion and absorption
factors affecting digestibility of feeds
 Digestion and Absorption:

The process of digestion includes:

The prehension of food or feed
The mechanical chewing and grinding
Mixing with digestive acids and enzymes to
chemically break down the foodstuffs
The process of absorption includes:
Transport of the digested foods across the
intestinal mucosa to the blood or lymph system
 The General Mechanical Process:

Mastication - chewing
Deglutition - swallowing
Regurgitation - movement of digesta in
reverse order from the stomach to mouth
Defecation - voiding the fecal, or waste,
materials from the body
 Animal Diet Types:

Species may be divided into dietary

preference groups:
Herbivores consume plant materials, examples
are horses and cattle
Carnivores consume flesh of other animals,
examples are dogs and cats
Omnivores consume both plants and flesh,
examples include the primates
 Differing Digestive Tracts:

Farm animal species have a variety of

digestive systems
Ruminants have four distinct stomach areas
examples include bovine, ovine and caprine
Nonruminants (also termed monogastrics)
display considerable variety
hogs, dogs, and cats have a single, simple stomach
poultry have a two part stomach
horses have a large, functional cecum
 Nonruminant Digestive System:

Mouth - prehension and chewing of food;

some carbohydrate enzyme activity
Esophagus - route of food from mouth to
stomach
Stomach - addition of hydrochloric acid
and protein digesting enzymes, mixing and
holding
 Nonruminant Digestive System:

Small intestine - primary site of digestion

and absorption
Large intestine - major site of water
absorption and preparation of digesta for
excretion
 Nonruminant Variations:

Poultry
Mouth: no teeth for chewing
Esophagus: a crop is contained within the
esophagus for food holding and moistening
Stomach: divided into proventriculus
(glandular area) and ventriculus (crushing
area)
Large intestine: short and exiting into the
cloaca; two large ceca with limited function
 Nonruminant Variations:

Horse
Large intestine differences:
cecum is very large (may contain 50% of digesta)
cecum provides some nutrients to the horse via
microbial fermentation
 Ruminant Digestive System:
Many parts of the tract are similar to
nonruminant monogastric description
Significant differences include:
Mouth contains no upper incisors
Stomach is divided into four major parts
rumen
reticulum
omasum
abomasum
 Ruminant Digestive System:

Rumen
Largest digestive area of the compound
stomach
Majority of fermentation of feedstuffs occurs
here
Majority of absorption of byproducts of
fermentation - volatile fatty acids or VFAs
 Ruminant Digestive System:

Reticulum
Receives feed from esophagus
Initiates mixing, regurgitation, and eructation
Environment for fermentation of feedstuffs
 Ruminant Digestive System:

Omasum
Third area of the stomach receives the digesta
outflow of the rumen/reticulum
Some water absorption and further subdivision
of feed particles may occur
 Ruminant Digestive System:

Abomasum
The fourth and final stomach compartment, but
very similar in function to the pig stomach
Acid and enzyme stomach
Final holding and mixing area before the small
intestine
 Ruminant Digestive System:

Selected terms:
Regurgitation - controlled reverse movement
of coarse feedstuffs from reticulum/rumen via
esophagus to mouth for rechewing
Eructation - expulsion of accumulated
fermentation gases from rumen via esophagus
Rumination - refers to the processing of
feedstuffs in the reticulum/rumen, to include
fermentation, regurgitation, eructation
 Chemistry of Digestion:

Digestion involves enzymes and acids

produced by the host animal or microbes
working in symbiosis with the host
Enzymes break specific chemical bonds in
feeds
Domestic animals produce enzymes to digest
nonfibrous carbohydrates, fats, and proteins
Only microbes have enzyme systems to digest
fibrous carbohydrates, such as cellulose
 Digestion of Carbohydrates:

General carbohydrate digesting enzyme

(amylase) in the mouth begins digestion;
little amylase is found in horses and none in
ruminants
Carbohydrate digesting enzymes (amylase)
from the pancreas, and intestinal mucosa
(sucrase, maltase, lactase) complete
carbohydrate digestion
 Digestion of Proteins:

Protein digesting enzyme (pepsin) and

hydrochloric acid in the stomach begin
significant digestion
Protein digesting enzymes (e.g. trypsin)
from the pancreas and intestinal mucosa
complete digestion in the small intestine
Young nursing animals rennin coagulates
milk allowing more complete digestion
 Digestion of Fat:

Fat digesting enzyme (lipase) in the

stomach begins digestion
Fat digesting enzymes from the pancreas
(lipase) and intestinal mucosa complete
digestion in the small intestine
To assist in fat digestion, bile from the liver
emulsifies fat into smaller droplets in the
small intestine
 Factors Affecting Digestibility:

Rate of passage - in general, increased rate of

passage of digesta through the tract reduces
digestibility, factors increasing rate of passage
include:
Increased level of feeding/intake (ruminants)
Finer processing (such as grinding) of feed
Note: grinding grain usually increases digestibility
but grinding hay decreases digestibility
 Factors Affecting Conversion:

Feed conversion refers to the amount of

productivity per unit of feed consumed
Factors impacting feed conversion include:
Age/weight - younger animals are more efficient
Level of feeding - limiting feed generally increases
efficiency
Inheritance - feed conversion is moderately heritable;
correlation between ADG and efficiency is high