Definition of "branchia" []

• A gill or similar organ of respiration. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The orifice opens into the branchial cavity behind a conical lobe, which stands above the third foot in place of a branchia which is wanting in Ocypoda."
• "The two apertures lie just above the edge of the fold of membrane which runs from the inner root of the larger or outer branchia, across the branchial cavity and beneath the rectum, to the other side."
• "Tadpoles (after they have cast their branchia or gills), newts, and rock fish can be used to the extent of six to the gallon."