Abomasum
Encyclopedia
The abomasum, also known as the maw, and the rennet-bag, and the read, is the fourth and final stomach
Stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...

 compartment in ruminants. It secretes rennin
Chymosin
Chymosin or rennin is an enzyme found in rennet. It is produced by cows in the lining of the abomasum...

 - the artificial form of which is called rennet
Rennet
Rennet is a complex of enzymes produced in any mammalian stomach to digest the mother's milk, and is often used in the production of cheese. Rennet contains many enzymes, including a proteolytic enzyme that coagulates the milk, causing it to separate into solids and liquid...

, and is used in cheese creation.

The word abomasum is from New Latin
New Latin
The term New Latin, or Neo-Latin, is used to describe the Latin language used in original works created between c. 1500 and c. 1900. Among other uses, Latin during this period was employed in scholarly and scientific publications...

 and it was first used in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 in 1706. It comes from Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 ab- + omasum
Omasum
The omasum, also known as the bible, the fardel, the manyplies and the psalterium, is the third compartment of the stomach in ruminants...

"intestine
Intestine
In human anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine...

 of an ox
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

," and it is possibly from the Gaulish language
Gaulish language
The Gaulish language is an extinct Celtic language that was spoken by the Gauls, a people who inhabited the region known as Gaul from the Iron Age through the Roman period...

.

The abomasum's normal anatomical location is along ventral midline. It is a secretory
Secretion
Secretion is the process of elaborating, releasing, and oozing chemicals, or a secreted chemical substance from a cell or gland. In contrast to excretion, the substance may have a certain function, rather than being a waste product...

 stomach similar in anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...

 and function as the monogastric
Monogastric
A monogastric organism has a simple single-chambered stomach, whereas ruminants have a four-chambered complex stomach. Examples of monogastric animals include omnivores such as humans, rats and pigs, carnivores such as dogs and cats, and herbivores such as Horses and rabbits. Herbivores with...

 stomach. It serves primarily in the acid
Acid
An acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...

 hydrolysis
Hydrolysis
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction during which molecules of water are split into hydrogen cations and hydroxide anions in the process of a chemical mechanism. It is the type of reaction that is used to break down certain polymers, especially those made by condensation polymerization...

 of microbial and dietary protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

, preparing these protein sources for further digestion
Digestion
Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food into smaller components that are more easily absorbed into a blood stream, for instance. Digestion is a form of catabolism: a breakdown of large food molecules to smaller ones....

 and absorption
Digestion
Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food into smaller components that are more easily absorbed into a blood stream, for instance. Digestion is a form of catabolism: a breakdown of large food molecules to smaller ones....

 in the small intestine
Small intestine
The small intestine is the part of the gastrointestinal tract following the stomach and followed by the large intestine, and is where much of the digestion and absorption of food takes place. In invertebrates such as worms, the terms "gastrointestinal tract" and "large intestine" are often used to...

.

Dairy cattle on high production diets are susceptible to a number of pathologies, most commonly after calving. A gas filled abomasum can move into an abnormal location resulting in left displaced abomasum (LDA) or right displaced abomasum (RDA). If the abomasum displaces to the right, it is at risk of torsion and becoming a right torsioned abomasum (RTA). A displaced abomasum will cause cows to present all or some of the following signs: loss of appetite, decrease rumen contractions, decrease cud chewing, and drop in milk production. While an LDA and RDA are not immediately life threatening, veterinary care is required for surgical correction. Abomasitis
Abomasitis
Abomasitis is a relatively rare ruminant disease characterized by inflammation of abomasum in young calves, lambs, and goat kids. It occurs with gastroenteritis but is seldom diagnosed as a separate condition, and its causes are as yet unknown. Its fatality rate is uncertain but appears to be 75...

 is a relatively rare, but serious, disease of the abomasum whose causes are currently unknown.

The abomasum is used to make the lampredotto
Lampredotto
Lampredotto is a typical Florentine peasant dish, made from the fourth and final stomach of a cow, the abomasum. "Lampredotto" is derived from the Italian word for lamprey eels, lampreda---once very abundant in the waters of the Arno River---as the tripe resembles a cooked lamprey in shape and...

, a typical dish of Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

. It is also fried and eaten with onions as part of the Korean dish Makchang gui.
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