In many organisms sex is determined genetically. Often this is accompanied by chromosomal differences between the sexes. Chromosomes, structures made of proteins and coiled DNA, contain all the genetic information of an organism.
What Are Sweetbreads? ccording to the Larousse Gastronomique, sweetbread is the culinary term for the thymus gland (in the throat) and the pancreas (near the stomach) in calves, lambs and pigs. Larousse further states that thymus sweetbreads are elongated and irregular in shape while pancreas sweetbreads are larger and rounded. But sweetbreads are neither sweet, nor are they bread. The word sweetbread was first used in the 16th century, but the reason behind the name is unknown.
(The animal in question can be a hog or calf or just about any other large mammal, I gather.) Theyâre called sweetbreads for the obvious reason that if you called them thymus glands or whatever you couldnât give the damn things away. The art of euphemism goes back a long way. Cecil Adams. Send questions to Cecil via cecil@straightdope.com.