omasum
1
9.9
- noun
- /oʊˈmeɪsəm/
- Specialized
:
omaso
- The omasum is responsible for absorbing water and nutrients from the digested food in a cow's stomach.
- rumen and the omasum
Examples
-
To do this, they are doing experiments in small chambers, called parabiotic chambers, that use stomach tissue from sheep to simulate that of the rumen and the omasum, two of the four compartments in a cow's stomach.
Academic text (2000) -
The contents collected from the rumen, omasum, and abomasum were weighed.
Academic text (2013) -
The omasum uses muscle action to press and further break down chewed grass cud into smaller pieces and squeeze out excess water.
Academic text (2000) -
Veterinarians study the omasum to understand how ruminant animals break down their food.
-
In ruminants, the omasum is situated between the reticulum and the abomasum, playing a key role in digestion.
Synonyms
A stomach chamber in animals like cows and sheep that filters food before digestion
A part of a cow's or sheep's stomach that takes in water and nutrients from food
Surface Forms
Etymology
Omasum comes from an old Latin name for a stomach and refers to the middle stomach found in animals like cows. A helpful image is a book or sponge with many thin leaves that 'soak up' water and nutrients from the food, which is why the omasum is the stomach part that absorbs water and nutrients.