Rumen motor skills

As rumen motor refers to a sequence of movements of the two fore-stomachs hood and rumen in ruminants . It serves to mix and transport the rumen contents and is mainly controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system.

A cycle of rumen motor skills. Double contraction of the hood (1) - contraction of the ejected stomach (2) - contraction of the back rumen sack (3) and blind sack (5) - contraction of the abdominal rumen sack (4) and blind sack (6)

A rumen motor cycle begins with a double contraction of the hood. When the hood is first contracted, the hood's gizzard opening is still closed, and the hood reduces its volume to half its initial value. The second hood contraction leads to an almost complete contraction. The hood-psaltery opening is opened, heavy feed components are transported into the rumen. Immediately after the second contraction of the hood, there is the wave of contraction of the gizzard ( atrium ruminis ), the front part of the upper rumen sac. In this way the feed is transported further into the rumen. Then the dorsal (upper) and then the ventral (lower) rumen sac contracts twice.

The entire cycle lasts about 30 seconds on average, so that you get about 120 contractions per hour. These waves of contraction can be determined in a living animal by pressing your fist into the left side of the abdominal wall.

Rumen motor disorders

Immediately before and shortly after the birth, the rumen contractions are significantly reduced.

In all disorders of the rumen digestion, the processes mentioned are restricted or come to a complete standstill (rumen arrest, rumen atony).

swell

↑ DIRKSEN and KAUFMANN: Investigations into the rumen motor skills of the dairy cow in the period around calving . In: Advances in Veterinary Medicine 28/1978, (pp. 144–152).

[1] DIRKSEN and KAUFMANN: Investigations into the rumen motor skills of the dairy cow in the period around calving . In: Advances in Veterinary Medicine 28/1978, (pp. 144–152).