Hindgut+Fermenters+-+Elephants

=Hindgut Fermenters - Elephants=

Pre-Small Intestine (Group 2 - Emily Deiss)
The first place to start wit digestion is the mouth. The mouth of an elephant is uniquely designed because of their environment. An elephant's trunk is used to retrieve food from tree tops as they are herbivores. The elephant therefore uses it's trunk as a hand and then puts the food into it's mouth via the trunk where the feed is chewed (called what?). The mouth of the elephant is fairly small compared to it's body size. The oral cavity has 26 teeth. The incisors are the tusks which are used to dig and rip feed. Then they have upper and lower molar teeth that are used to grind and chew the vegetation they have consumed. They have 6 sets of molars in a lifetime and they lose sets periodically. They mouth in an elephant also contains salivary glands that secrete saliva which contains an enzyme called amylase that breaks down starch. The next thing that comes is the esophagus that has a muscular tube made of smooth muscle. The esophagus has muscular contractions that is called peristalsis that push the bolus of feed down the esophagus into the stomach. In the stomach the first step of digestion occurs where the enzyme pepsin (comes from what zymogen?) breaks down protein with the assistance of hydrochloric acid. After this process has occurred, which lasts about 4 hours, the next step is to enter the small intestine.

Small Intestine (Group 2 - Angie Esselman)
This is the major digestive organ, and where most nutrients are absorbed. It has three parts, the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. The majority of digestion occurs in the duodenum while the majority of absorption occurs in the jejunum. Bile from the liver aids in digesting fats in the duodenum combined with enzymes from the pancreas and small intestine (more description of zymogens, enzymes). Most food is digested and absorbed into the bloodstream from the small intestine, including proteins, simple carbohydrate, fats, and vitamins A, D, and E. Any remaining liquids and roughage move into the large intestine.

Large Intestine (Group 2 - Abigail Faul)
The large inestine of the elephant is approximately 38-43 feet long and holds roughly 480 liters of matter.

The cecum is a blind pouch that is connected to the ileum and varies in size, but when talking about elephants they are about 5 to 7 feet long. It is a major site of microbial fermentation and the production of Volatile Fatty Acids by microbes. The synthesis of B vitamins also occurs in the cecum.

The colon is enlarged (much like the horse) and contains bacteria that breaks down plant material. Having the same functions as the cecum; microbial digestion, Volatile Fatty Acid synthesis, and B and K vitamin synthesis also occur here. Along with that, water reabsorption ang the concentration of feces happen in the colon.

The rectum is where the final fecal matter is formed. Unabsorbed and undigested feed stuffs, dead bacteria, sloughed cells and fluid are all components of the feces. The elephant is not efficient in digesting what they eat, resulting in feces that contain seeds and other matter that rodents and insects feast on.