Rumen with a View!

So today we had our digestive physiology lab where we got to explore the rumen of a live cow. There is a small herd of ~15 cows on the UofG campus that are fistulated (have rubber windows in their sides). these are surgically implanted and seriously do not effect the cow in any major way. They are teaching animals that allow students to get a better understanding of the muscular and digestive capabilities of a rumen. The rumen is so big and strong that they don't feel anything really, we do be more sensitive around the esophageal opening because boluses are continually coming in and we don't want to create back flow. One of our guys has such long arms that he was able to reach into the reticulum and retrieve the hardware magnet so the prof could clean it off for her!!! (Magnets are fed to the cows to prevent Hardware disease. They catch stray metal that may have been ingested and prevents it from puncturing the wall of the reticulum and puncturing the heart!) A very cool opportunity for us!

Rectal palpation glove on and to the shoulder!! I am short so I had to get on my tippy-toes!

This is not manure.... yet! This was the digesta we had to clear from her stomach so we could feel something! this was about half of the fill, and of course we put it back!!!