Ventriculus (Noun)
Meaning
Thick-walled muscular pouch below the crop in many birds and reptiles for grinding food.
Classification
Nouns denoting animals.
Examples
- The ventriculus plays a crucial role in the digestive system of birds by fragmenting and grinding seeds into smaller pieces for easier digestion.
- In birds, food passes from the crop to the ventriculus for mechanical breakdown before it is absorbed in the intestines.
- A rock pigeon's ventriculus is lined with gritty particles that help grind seeds in the digestive process.
- The ventriculus of a parrot is highly specialized with unique muscle arrangements and can contain grit ingested by the bird to help with seed grinding.
- Birds that primarily eat seeds have a more developed ventriculus compared to those whose diet mostly consists of fruits and nectar.