Which term best describes an animal with a single-chamber stomach?

• A. Monogastric
• B. Ruminant
• C. Omnivore
• D. Polygastric

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is how many compartments the stomach has. An animal with a single-chamber stomach is described as monogastric. This includes species like humans and pigs, whose digestion starts and ends in one stomach before the material moves on to the intestines. Ruminants, on the other hand, have a four-chamber stomach (rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum) that allows extensive microbial fermentation, which is why they’re not monogastric. The other terms don’t fit as well: omnivore describes what an animal eats, not stomach structure, and polygastric would imply multiple stomach chambers, which is characteristic of ruminants but not the single-chamber type. So, the best label for a single-chamber stomach is monogastric.