Rumen-derived extracellular matrix scaffolds and clinical application

Abstract

The ruminant refers to a mammal having a stomach with four chambers. These include a forestomach, consists of a rumen, a reticulum and an omasum, and a fourth chamber known as an abomasum. Examples of ruminants include mammals belonging to the genus Copra, Bos, Cervus, and Ovis. The rumen underpins much of our agricultural industry. Without this stomach chamber, cows and other ruminants would be much less efficient at turning grass into milk, meat, and wool. A cow’s rumen has a capacity of up to 95 L and contains billions of bacteria and other microbes. These microbes produce the enzymes that digest cellulose into sugars and fatty acids for their hosts to use. A less desirable by-product is the potent greenhouse gas, methane; a single cow can produce up to 280 L of methane a day. Collectively, these organs occupy almost three-fourths of the abdominal cavity, filling virtually all of the left side and extending significantly into the right. The reticulum lies against the diaphragm and is joined to the rumen by a fold of tissue. The rumen is the largest of the forestomachs and is itself sacculated by muscular pillars into what are called the dorsal, ventral, caudodorsal, and caudoventral sacs. In many respects, the reticulum can be considered a “cranioventral sac” of the rumen; for example, ingesta flow freely between these two organs. The reticulum is connected to the spherical omasum by a short tunnel. The abomasum is the ruminant’s true or glandular stomach. © 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.