ruminantia

Ruminantia

Ru`mi*nan"ti*a\, n. pl. [NL.] (Zo["o]l.) A division of Artiodactyla having four stomachs. This division includes the camels, deer, antelopes, goats, sheep, neat cattle, and allies.

Note: The vegetable food, after the first mastication, enters the first stomach (r). It afterwards passes into the second (n), where it is moistened, and formed into pellets which the animal has the power of bringing back to the mouth to be chewed again, after which it is swallowed into the third stomach (m), whence it passes to the fourth (s), where it is finally digested.