Crop (anatomy)

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This article is about the digestive croup. For the (unrelated) skeletal croup, see Rump (croup).

A male Budgerigar with a full crop after feeding.

A crop (or croup) is a thin-walled expanded portion of the alimentary tract used for the storage of food prior to digestion that is found in many animals, including gastropods, earthworms,^[1] leeches,^[2] insects, and birds.

1 Bees
2 Birds
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Bees

Cropping is used by bees to temporarily store nectar of flowers. When bees "suck" nectar, it is stored in their crop.^[3]

[edit] Birds

In a bird's digestive system, the crop is an expanded, muscular pouch near the gullet or throat. It is a part of the digestive tract, essentially an enlarged part of the esophagus. As with most other organisms that have a crop, the crop is used to temporarily store food. Not all birds have a crop. In adult doves and pigeons, the crop can produce crop milk to feed newly hatched birds.^[4]

Scavenging birds, such as vultures, will gorge themselves when prey is abundant, causing their crop to bulge. They subsequently sit, sleepy or half torpid, to digest their food.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ "Worm World: About Earthworms". http://yucky.discovery.com/flash/worm/pg000102.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-16.
^ Sawyer, Roy T. "Leach Biology and Behaviour, Volume II" (PDF). Retrieved on 2008-12-16.
^ "Honeybee Biology". 1994. http://plantphys.info/plants_human/bees/bees.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-12-16.
^ Gordon John Larkman Ramel (2008-09-29). "The Alimentary Canal in Birds". http://www.earthlife.net/birds/digestion.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-16.

[edit] External links

The Alimentary Canal in Birds

Anatomy of torso, digestive system: Gastrointestinal tract

Upper GI

To stomach	Mouth • Pharynx (nasopharynx, oropharynx, hypopharynx) • Esophagus (UES, LES) • Crop

Stomach	rugae – gastric pits – cardia/gland – fundus/gland – pylorus/gland – pyloric antrum – pyloric canal – greater curvature – lesser curvature – angular incisure

Lower GI

Intestine: small	Duodenum (Suspensory muscle, Major duodenal papilla, Minor duodenal papilla) • Duodenojejunal flexure • Jejunum • Ileum • Ileocecal valve continuous (intestinal villus, crypts of Lieberkühn, circular folds)

Intestine: large	Vermiform appendix • Cecum • Colon (ascending colon, hepatic flexure, transverse colon, splenic flexure, descending colon, sigmoid colon) continuous (taenia coli, haustra, epiploic appendix)

Termination	Rectum: Houston valve • rectal ampulla • pectinate line Anal canal: anal valves • anal sinuses • anal columns • Hilton's white line Anus: Sphincter ani internus muscle • Sphincter ani externus muscle

Lymph	GALT: Peyer's patches (M cells)

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