We learn in a new Mishna that a person must eat at least a ka-zayit, an olive bulk, of the gid hanasheh, the sciatic nerve, to be liable to receive the punishment of lashes. The Mishna also says that if a person eats more than an olive-bulk but the sciatic nerve is smaller than an olive-bulk, the person is still liable to receive lashes.
The Gemara teaches that the sciatic nerve is special. It is a beriah bifnei atzmah, a significant free-standing entity. As such, it does not adhere to regular Halacha. Such entities are said to have been singled out by the Torah as forbidden to be eaten in its entirety. Even though Shmuel teaches that the 'spoon' of the thigh is forbidden, the entire gid ha-nasheh is mentioned in the Torah and thus it is forbidden to eat any of that entity.
Some say that the beriah bifnei atzmah must include the significance of an entire creation. According to this interpretation, one is punished if they consume the entire gid hanasheh as it is a significant act. However, s/he would not be liable for punishment if s/he had only eaten the part of the gid hanasheh that was forbidden. A strange twist.
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