Fistulated Cow

• Cows--like sheep, goats, deer, and giraffes--are "ruminants." They all have special stomachs to digest their food.
• A cow's stomach is made up of four compartments: the omasum, abomasum, reticulum, and rumen.
• The rumen is the largest compartment and the main place where the cow's food is digested so the nutrients can be taken into the body
• To study how cows digest their food, scientists sometimes make an opening into the rumen
• "Fistula" is the word for a surgical opening made into the body
• By studying fistulated cows, researchers have learned what and how to feed animals so they get all the nutrients they need.