Sheep Shape Dr Vinod Suresh, Stephen Waite, John Cater, Garry WaghornA sheep eats about 10 kg of grass every day, which is digested by the microorganisms in its rumen – the first and largest compartment of the ruminant digestive system. Coordinated muscular contractions of the rumen set up complex flows that mix the slurry of grass and saliva, filter digested particles for removal, and facilitate regurgitation and burping. Here you see the shape of a sheep rumen reconstructed from CT scans and overlaid with bright colours from computer simulations depicting the flow and mixing of the grass inside.

Sheep Shape
Dr Vinod Suresh, Stephen Waite, John Cater, Garry Waghorn

A sheep eats about 10 kg of grass every day, which is digested by the microorganisms in its rumen – the first and largest compartment of the ruminant digestive system. Coordinated muscular contractions of the rumen set up complex flows that mix the slurry of grass and saliva, filter digested particles for removal, and facilitate regurgitation and burping.

Here you see the shape of a sheep rumen reconstructed from CT scans and overlaid with bright colours from computer simulations depicting the flow and mixing of the grass inside.