Hunger pit

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Clearly visible triangular starvation pit in a dairy cow

The starvation pit ( Latin fossa paralumbalis , " pit located next to the loin ") is a depression in the lateral abdominal wall below the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae and thus the upper part of the flank in quadruped mammals. The name “hunger pit” is a bit misleading because it also occurs in well-nourished animals, but it is more pronounced when the animals are very emaciated.

The shape of the starvation pit is roughly triangular; it is bounded above by the transverse processes, behind and below by the anterior muscle contour of the hip and rib thigh ( crus costocoxale ) of the inner oblique abdominal muscle and in front by the last rib .

In the right starvation pit, the abdominal wall lies against the inside of the duodenum , in horses also the head of the appendix ( caput caeci ), the sounds of which can be heard here. The left kidney and the descending colon ( descending colon ) lie in the area of ​​the left hunger pit, but in ruminants the rumen sac on the back . At this point, rumen motor skills can be determined in ruminants and a rumen sting can be performed if the rumen is inflated (rumen symptom ) .

literature

  • Franz-Viktor Salomon et al. (Ed.): Anatomy for veterinary medicine. Enke-Verlag Stuttgart, 2nd ext. 2008 edition, ISBN 978-3-8304-1075-1