Cattle are ruminants and possess four bellies, which are the rumen, reticulum, valve, and wrinkled stomach. These bellies are distributed in the abdominal cavity of the cow and are located as follows:
1.Rumen: Located to the left of the bovine's abdominal cavity, it occupies most of the abdominal space and is the largest of the four stomachs.
2.Reticulated stomach: next to the rumen, located in the left middle part of the bovine's abdominal cavity.
3.Flap stomach: Located in the front of the abdominal cavity of the cow, next to the net stomach, it is shaped like a plate placed on its side.
4.Stomach wrinkle: Located in the lower right of the bovine's abdominal cavity, close to the cow's leg, it is the only belly that connects to the cattle's esophagus.
Each of these four stomachs has a different digestive function. For example, the rumen is mainly responsible for storing and fermenting food, the reticulum is responsible for stimulating the cow to ruminate for further digestion of food, the valve stomach is responsible for filtration, and the wrinkled stomach is responsible for digesting and absorbing nutrients from food.
In daily life, we often hear "tripe", which actually refers to the stomach of a cow, rather than specifically referring to a specific belly. Since the rumen and reticulum are located on the left side of the abdominal cavity, and the valve stomach and the puckered stomach are located in the front of the abdominal cavity, "tripe" generally refers to the entire stomach including these four stomachs. In addition, it is worth noting that in some regions, "tripe" is considered a delicacy and is often used to make a variety of gastronomic delicacies.
To sum up, cattle have four bellies, which are distributed in different parts of the abdominal cavity. Each of these tummys has a different digestive function and works together to help the cow digest and absorb the nutrients from the food.