The fourth and final compartment of a ruminant's stomach, where most actual digestion and nutrient absorption occurs.
Neo-Latin term coined in the 1600s, combining 'ab-' (away) and 'omasum' (the third stomach). The name suggests it's positioned 'away from' the other stomach chambers in the ruminant digestive sequence.
The abomasum is basically the 'human stomach equivalent' for cows—while we have one simple stomach, cows have four, but only the abomasum works like ours with acid and digestive enzymes, making it nature's way of maximizing plant digestion.
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