Gizzard

Gizzard

The gizzard, also referred to as the ventriculus, gastric mill, and gigerium, is an organ in the digestive tract found in birds, reptiles, earthworms, some fish, and other creatures. This specialized stomach constructed of thick, muscular walls is used for grinding up food. In certain insects and molluscs, the gizzard features chitinous plates or teeth.

Etymology

The word "gizzard" comes from the Middle English "giserdd", which derives from a similar word in Old French, and earlier from the Vulgar Latin "*gicerium", which follows from the Latin word "gigeria", meaning cooked entrails of poultry. The Latin word "gigeria" is probably derived from the Persian word for liver, which is "jiger".

tructure

Birds swallow food and store it in their crop if necessary. Then the food passes into their glandular stomach, also called the proventriculus, which is also sometimes referred to as the true stomach. This is the secretory part of the stomach. Then the food passes into the ventriculus (also known as the "muscular stomach" or "gizzard"). The gizzard can grind the food with stones that have been swallowed and pass it back to the true stomach and vice versa. Bird gizzards are lined with a tough layer made of the protein keratin, to protect the muscles in the gizzard.

Gizzard stones

Some animals that lack teeth will swallow stones or grit to aid in digestion. All birds have gizzards, but not all will swallow stones or grit. The birds that do, employ the following method of 'mastication': :"A bird swallows small bits of gravel that act as 'teeth' in the gizzard, breaking down hard food such as seeds and thus helping digestion." (Solomon et. al, 2002).These stones are called "gizzard stones" or "gastroliths" and are usually smooth and round from the polishing action in the animal's stomach. When too smooth to do their required work, they may be passed or regurgitated.

Animals with gizzards

Emus, turkeys and chickens, like all birds, have gizzards. Mullets (Mugilidae) found in estuarine waters worldwide, and the gizzard shad, or mud shad, found in freshwater lakes and streams from New York to Mexico, have gizzards.The Gillaroo ("Salmo stomachius"), has a gizzard. It is a species of trout found in Lough Melvin in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is a distinct species, characterized by a rich coloration. Its gizzard is used to aid the digestion of water snails, the main item of its diet.

Crocodiles also have gizzards.

Dinosaurs with gizzards

Dinosaurs believed to have had gizzards based on the discovery of gizzard stones recovered near fossils:
* Claosaurus
* Psittacosaurus
* Massospondylus
* Sellosaurus
* Omeisaurus
* Apatosaurus
* Barosaurus
* Dicraeosaurus
* Seismosaurus

Eating gizzards

The gizzards of poultry are a popular food throughout the world. Grilled chicken gizzards are sold as street food in South Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, Haiti, and throughout Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, gizzard and liver are considered as part of a complete fried poultry dish. Chicken gizzards are popular food item in Potterville, Michigan, where a Gizzard Festival is held every year in June. Stewed gizzards are eaten as a snack in Portugal, while pickled turkey gizzards are a traditional food in some parts of the Midwestern United States. In Hungary it is made with paprika. In the Southern United States, the gizzard is typically served fried, sometimes eaten with hot or honey mustard, or added to crawfish boil along with crawfish sauce, and it is also used in traditional New Orleans gumbo. In Chicago, gizzard is battered, deep fried and served with fries and sauce. Gizzard and mashed potato is a popular food in many European countries. In France, especially the Dordogne region, gizzards are eaten in the traditional Perigordian Salad, along with walnuts, croutons and lettuce.

In Yiddish, gizzards are referred to as "pipik'lach", literally meaning navels. The gizzards of kosher species of birds have a green or yellowish membrane lining the inside, which must be peeled off before cooking, as it lends a very bitter taste to the food. In traditional Eastern European Jewish cuisine, the gizzards, necks, and feet of chickens were often cooked together, although not the liver, which per Kosher law must be broiled.

In Uganda, Cameroon and Nigeria, the gizzard of a cooked chicken is traditionally set aside for the oldest or most respected male at the table.

Giblets consist of the heart, liver and gizzard of a bird, and are often eaten themselves or used as the basis for a soup or stock.

Generic meaning

Gizzards can also refer to the general guts, innards or entrails of other animals, as in the phrase 'hand over the treasure or I'll slit yer gizzards me hearty' that may be uttered by a storybook pirate.

References

* Solomon, E.P., Berg L.P., and Martin D.W., 2002. "Biology Sixth Edition". Thomson Learning Inc., Australia, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, United States pp. 664
* Dyce, Sack, Wensing, 2002. "Textbook of Veterinary Anatomy" Third Edition, Saunders. ISBN 0-7216-8966-3


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Synonyms:
(in birds)


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gizzard — Giz zard, n. [F. g[ e]sier, L. gigeria, pl., the cooked entrails of poultry. Cf. {Gigerium}.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Anat.) The second, or true, muscular stomach of birds, in which the food is crushed and ground, after being softened in the glandular …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gizzard — stomach of a bird, late 14c., from O.Fr. gisier (Mod.Fr. gésier) entrails, giblets (of a bird), probably from V.L. *gicerium, dissimilated from L. gigeria (neut. pl.) cooked entrails of a fowl, a delicacy in ancient Rome, from PIE *yekwr liver… …   Etymology dictionary

  • gizzard — ► NOUN 1) a muscular, thick walled part of a bird s stomach for grinding food, typically with grit. 2) a muscular stomach of some fish, insects, molluscs, and other invertebrates. ORIGIN Old French, from Latin gigeria cooked entrails of fowl …   English terms dictionary

  • gizzard — [giz′ərd] n. [ME giser (+ unhistoric d) < OFr gisier < L gigeria, pl., cooked entrails of poultry < ? an Iran base > Pers džigar, liver] 1. the second stomach of a bird: it has thick muscular walls and a tough lining for grinding food …   English World dictionary

  • gizzard — /giz euhrd/, n. Zool. 1. Also called ventriculus. a thick walled, muscular pouch in the lower stomach of many birds and reptiles that grinds food, often with the aid of ingested stones or grit. 2. Also called gastric mill. a similar structure in… …   Universalium

  • gizzard — UK [ˈɡɪzə(r)d] / US [ˈɡɪzərd] noun [countable] Word forms gizzard : singular gizzard plural gizzards the stomach of a chicken or other bird …   English dictionary

  • gizzard —  1. Stomach.  2. fret one s gizzard Worry.  3. stick in one s gizzard Annoy one …   A concise dictionary of English slang

  • gizzard — noun Etymology: alteration of Middle English giser gizzard, liver, from Anglo French gesir, giser, from Latin gigeria (plural) giblets Date: 1565 1. a. the muscular enlargement of the alimentary canal of birds that has usually thick muscular… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • gizzard — n. [OF. gezier, gizzard] 1. A grinding chamber of various invertebrates. 2. (ANNELIDA: Oligochaeta) A muscular area of the digestive system between intestine and crop. 3. (ARTHROPODA) For Insecta and Crustacea, see proventriculus. 4. (BRYOZOA:… …   Dictionary of invertebrate zoology

  • gizzard — [14] Latin gigeria denoted the ‘cooked entrails of poultry’, something of a delicacy in ancient Rome (the word may have been borrowed from Persian jigar). This produced a Vulgar Latin *gicerium, which passed into Old French as giser. English… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

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