Morning Tonic: Fistulated Season’s Greetings
Published by Joel December 20th, 2006 in Meat, Tonic. Share This
A fistulated cow is a cow with an intentional hole in it for scientific research. In 1822, a Canadian suffered a wound that refused to heal, but the man otherwise was in fine health. His doctor discovered that the digestive process could be observed directly through the hole. The discovery spread, and for over 150 years, fistulation has been used to observe digestive processes in living animals, with the first recorded scientific use on animals dating to 1833.
They have those at University of Maryland, College Park (which might be where the picture was shot). They bring them out on Maryland Day which is when they turn the whole campus into something like a state fair but basically showing off what they have. You get a big glove that goes to your shoulder and they let you stick your hand inside.
This shouldn’t be giving me a boner, should it?
No
I want a cow with a port hole.
I was going to say they had one of these at College Park as well, but Dave beat me to the punch. My office at my former job was across the street from this thing, which sort of always gave me the heebie-jeebies.
And Maryland Day, too funny. “Look inside a digesting bovine. What fun!”
And,yes, I am still a proud Terp!
Ummm, this might sound weird, but I’m wondering if it hurts the cow to have a hole that big in it.
I just have to before someone else does it first:
“HOLY COW!”
No its doesnt, and humans to have them though its very rare now. Whats really interesting is that it tends to extend the cows life, as stomach problems and ailments can easily be taken care of unlike a non-fistulated cow.