Abstract
STIMULATED by the interesting communication of Dr. Jordan and Mr. Kronig (NATURE, Dec. 3, 1927) concerning the direction of rotation of the jaws of cows in North Sjælland during mastication, we have ourselves carried out similar investigations. We have made the interesting observation that the direction of rotation is the same whether the cow be taking in food through the mouth or ruminating. If according to the convention of the above-mentioned authors we choose as the positive direction that of the food, it follows that one and the same cow must be classed sometimes as right-handed and at others as left-handed. If we may assume that the processes of taking in food by the mouth and of rumination alternate, then it follows that the cases of right-handed and left-handed mastication must of necessity be equal in number. The fact that the former investigators did not find a ratio of exactly one to one is then presumably due to their not having made equal numbers of observations on the two different phenomena.
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RIEHM, H., GUGGENHEIM, E. Movements of the Lower Jaw of Cattle during Mastication. Nature 121, 357 (1928). https://doi.org/10.1038/121357c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/121357c0
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