Cud stretched, forming a vacuum in the gullet that sucks the semi-liquid stomach content into the esophagus. From the esophagus it is taken back to the mouth with retro peristaltic movements. When the stomach content, or the cud, arrives in the mouth of the ruminant, it is pushed against the palate with the tongue to remove excess liquid, the latter is swallowed and the solid material is chewed thoroughly so the cattle can extract the minerals present in the cud brought to the surface during rumination. The function of rumination is that food is physically refined to expose more surface area
Retroperistalsis of humans are weak compared with those of most other mammals. In cud-chewing animals, such as cows, reverse peristalsis can occur so that the food is brought back from the stomach to the mouth for rechewing. When the stomach is filled, peristaltic waves are diminished. The presence of fat in a meal can completely stop these movements for a short period until it is diluted with gastric juices or removed from the stomach. Peristaltic waves start as weak contractions at the beginning of the stomach and progressively become stronger as they near the distal stomach regions. The waves help to