ruminari

Ruminari is a term that refers to the process of digestion in ruminant animals. Ruminants are mammals that have a specialized digestive system, typically a four-chambered stomach, designed to break down tough plant material such as grass and leaves. This complex digestive process allows them to extract nutrients from cellulose, a component of plant cell walls that most other animals cannot digest.

The stomach of a ruminant is divided into four compartments: the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum, and the abomasum. In the rumen, the largest compartment, ingested food is fermented by a vast population of microbes, including bacteria, protozoa, and fungi. These microbes break down the cellulose into volatile fatty acids, which the animal then absorbs as its primary energy source.

A key characteristic of ruminari is rumination, also known as cud chewing. After initial chewing and swallowing, partially digested food, called cud, is regurgitated from the reticulum back into the mouth. The animal then rechews this cud, further breaking it down and mixing it with saliva. This process increases the surface area of the food, making it more accessible to microbial fermentation in the rumen. Following rechewing, the cud is swallowed again for further digestion in the omasum and abomasum, the latter being the "true stomach" similar to that of non-ruminant animals. This efficient digestive strategy allows ruminants to thrive on diets that would be nutritionally insufficient for other herbivores.