The anatomy of the body wall and appendages in Arenicola marina L., Arenicola claparedii Levinsen and Arenicola Ecaudata Johnston

Author(s):  
G. P. Wells

Worms for dissection, or for museum preservation, should be prepared by the magnesium-formalin method, of which two modifications are given in the text.The body of Arenicola is differentiated into: (a) an achaetous ‘head’, comprising the prostomium and a small number (probably two) of subsequent segments, (b) a ‘trunk’, composed of a number, varying somewhat with the species, of chaetigerous segments, and (c) a ‘tail’, which may or may not be chaetigerous according to the species. The method of subdividing the body according to the distribution of the gills, so often met with in the literature, is misleading because it conceals the very fundamental differentiation between ‘head’ and ‘trunk’.The main layers of the body wall are described. There are grounds for supposing that the circular muscle layer plays a greater part than the longitudinal in the maintenance of a postural fluid pressure in active worms.

1968 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 657-667
Author(s):  
G. CHAPMAN

1. The hydrostatic pressures recorded in the coelom of Urechis during peristalsis, irrigation, burrowing and hind-gut ventilation have been recorded continuously. The main muscular activities except burrowing take place at pressures of a few centimetres of water and, it is suggested, are mainly carried out by the outer circular muscle layer. The high pressures involved in burrowing demand the recruitment of the whole muscle system. 2. The hind-gut ventilation stops when internal pressure is raised, although changes in the contained volume of the body wall do not appear to provide information leading to the maintenance of a fixed volume. Instead this control is probably excercised by the hind gut. 3. An attempt is made to calculate the energy requirements of irrigation and ventilation and it is shown that these are small compared with the respiratory rate, indicating that the movement of large volumes of water for feeding purposes is not an extravagant way of obtaining food in terms of energy expenditure.


1966 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-118
Author(s):  
E. R. TRUEMAN

1. Continuous recordings of the hydrostatic pressure in the coelom of Arenicola marina show a resting pressure of about 2 cm. of water in a non-burrowing worm. During burrowing a series of pressure peaks is produced and these gradually increase in amplitude up to 110 cm. as burrowing progresses. 2. The pressure peaks are of 2 sec. duration, occur at intervals of 5-7 sec., and for each there is a major contraction of the circular muscles followed by the shortening of the longitudinal muscles. The main power stroke in producing the high pressure is the contraction of the longitudinal muscles of most of the trunk segments. The sequence of muscular contractions and the phases of burrowing are considered. 3. The pressure is utilized at the anterior end of the worm both to aid passage through the sand and to anchor the head while the posterior segments are pulled into the burrow. 4. At maximum pressures the tension developed in the circular muscle of the body wall is estimated to be 3 kg./cm.2, while the resting pressure corresponds to less than 7% of this.


1951 ◽  
Vol s3-92 (17) ◽  
pp. 27-54
Author(s):  
E. J. BATHAM ◽  
C. F.A. PANTIN

I. The muscular system of Metridium consists of fields of relatively short muscle-fibres. In extension these may exceed I mm. in length but are only about 0.5µ thick. They can shorten to about a fifth of the extended length. The fibres consist almost entirely of densely staining material. They form a connected network. At least in some cases the cells seem to be in contact rather than to form syncytial connexions. 2. Deformation of the body-wall is in part controlled by the contractility of the muscle-fibres and in part by the properties of the mesogloea. Longitudinal contraction of the body-wall is accompanied by great thickening of the substance of the mesogloea. That part of the mesogloea which carries the circular muscle-fibres of the body-wall does not thicken. It buckles, thereby throwing the muscular layer into folds. Buckling occurs during the shortening of almost every actinian tissue. The familiar folding seen in cross-sections of the retractors is a special case of excessive buckling which is permanent. 3. A natural limit to the extension of anemone tissue is reached when the muscle-layer is completely unbuckled. If contraction proceeds to a maximum, there is a second order of buckling by which the whole body-wall is thrown into folds. Con-traction ca n then proceed no further. 4. The function of the muscle-fields is analysed. The youngest cycles of mesenteries (‘imperfect microcnemes’) supply the longitudinal musculature of the column (parietal muscle). The older ‘imperfect retractor-bearers’ have only feeble parietal musculature, but possess a retractor muscle connecting the oral with the pedal disk. The perfect mesenteries have a similar organization to the imperfect retractor-bearers, and parti-cularly in the non-directive perfect mesenteries there is a well-developed sheet of radial (exocoelic) muscle whose reflex contraction opens the mouth. The vertical endocoelic muscle-fibres of all non-directive mesenteries fan out on to the pedal disk. On the exocoelic side, the parieto-basilarfans out from the pedal disk to the body-wall. As usual, the muscle-fields of the directives are developed on opposite sides from those of the non-directives. 5. The muscular plan of the pedal disk is compared with the tube foot of Asterias as described by J. E. Smith. There is a significant functional similarit y in the opera-tion of vertical, oblique, and radial muscles (basilars) bearing on the adhesive disk. The circular layer of the actinian foot has no analogue in the tube foot. It is primarily concerned with locomotion and not with adhesion. 6. The functional organization of the oral disk and tentacles is discussed. It differs from the rest of the body in the retention of ectodermal longitudinal muscle. This layer is responsible for the special movements executed in feeding. The significance of its physiological separation from the endodermal system is noted.


2017 ◽  
Vol 05 (03) ◽  
pp. E146-E150 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Rahni ◽  
Takashi Toyonaga ◽  
Yoshiko Ohara ◽  
Francesco Lombardo ◽  
Shinichi Baba ◽  
...  

Background and study aims A 54-year-old man was diagnosed with a rectal tumor extending through the submucosal layer. The patient refused surgery and therefore endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) was pursued. The lesion exhibited the muscle retraction sign. After dissecting circumferentially around the fibrotic area by double tunneling method, a myotomy was performed through the internal circular muscle layer, creating a plane of dissection between the internal circular muscle layer and the external longitudinal muscle layer, and a myectomy was completed.The pathologic specimen verified T1b grade 1 sprouting adenocarcinoma with 4350 µm invasion into the submucosa with negative resection margins.


2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. 3840-3849 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Sha ◽  
G. Farrugia ◽  
D. R. Linden ◽  
J. H. Szurszewski

1954 ◽  
Vol s3-95 (30) ◽  
pp. 251-270
Author(s):  
G. P. WELLS

The mechanism of proboscis movement is analysed in detail in Arenicola marina L. and A. ecaudata Johnston, and discussed in relation to the properties of the hydrostatic skeleton. Proboscis activity is based on the following cycle of movements in both species. Stage I. The circular muscles of the body-wall and buccal mass contract; the head narrows and lengthens. Stage IIa. The circular muscles of the mouth and buccal mass relax; the gular membrane (or ‘first diaphragm’ of previous authors) contracts; the mouth opens and the buccal mass emerges. Stage IIb. The longitudinal muscles of the buccal mass and body-wall contract; the head shortens and widens and the pharynx emerges. Stage III. As Stage I. The two species differ anatomically and in their hydrostatic relationships. In ecaudata, the forward movement of body-fluid which extrudes and distends the proboscis is largely due to the contraction of the gular membrane and septal pouches. In marina, the essential mechanism is the relaxation of the oral region which allows the general coelomic pressure to extrude the proboscis. The gular membrane of marina contracts as that of ecaudata does, but its anatomy is different and it appears to be a degenerating structure as far as proboscis extrusion is concerned. Withdrawal of the proboscis may occur while the head is still shortening and widening in Stage IIb, or while it is lengthening and narrowing in Stage III. The proboscis is used both in feeding and in burrowing; in the latter case nothing enters through the mouth; the difference is largely caused by variation in the timing of withdrawal relative to the 3-stage cycle.


1994 ◽  
Vol 267 (5) ◽  
pp. G938-G946 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Vogalis ◽  
R. R. Bywater ◽  
G. S. Taylor

The electrical basis of propulsive contractions in the guinea pig choledochoduodenal junction (CDJ), which are triggered by distension, was investigated using intracellular microelectrode recording techniques. The isolated CDJ was placed in a continuously perfused tissue chamber at 37 degrees C. Membrane potential was recorded from smooth muscle cells in either the ampulla or in the upper CDJ (upper junction) regions, which were immobilized by pinning. Distension of the upper junction (20-30 s) by increasing intraductal hydrostatic pressure (mean elevation: 2.0 +/- 0.3 kPa, n = 13) triggered "transient depolarizations" (TDs: < 5 mV in amplitude and 2-5 s in duration) and action potentials in the circular muscle layer of the ampulla. The frequency of TDs in the ampulla was increased from 2.2 +/- 0.2 to 15.9 +/- 2.2 min-1 (n = 13) during distension. Simultaneous impalements of cells in the longitudinal and circular muscle layers in the ampulla revealed that subthreshold TDs in the circular layer were associated with an increased rate of action potential discharge in the longitudinal layer. Atropine (Atr; 1.4 x 10(-6) M) and tetrodotoxin (TTX; 3.1 x 10(-6) M blocked the distension-evoked increase in TD frequency, without affecting the frequency of ongoing TDs. The sulfated octapeptide of cholecystokinin (1-5 x 10(-8) M) increased the amplitude of TDs recorded in the circular muscle layer of the ampulla and increased action potential discharge rate. In separate recordings, radial stretch of the ampulla region increased the rate of discharge of action potentials in the smooth muscle of the upper junction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Parasitology ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 126 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. T. STEWART ◽  
A. MOUSLEY ◽  
B. KOUBKOVÁ ◽  
š. šEBELOVÁ ◽  
N. J. MARKS ◽  
...  

The major muscle systems of the metacercaria of the strigeid trematode, Apatemon cobitidis proterorhini have been examined using phalloidin as a site-specific probe for filamentous actin. Regional differences were evident in the organization of the body wall musculature of the forebody and hindbody, the former comprising outer circular, intermediate longitudinal and inner diagonal fibres, the latter having the inner diagonal fibres replaced with an extra layer of more widely spaced circular muscle. Three orientations of muscle fibres (equatorial, meridional, radial) were discernible in the oral sucker, acetabulum and paired lappets. Large longitudinal extensor and flexor muscles project into the hindbody where they connect to the body wall or end blindly. Innervation to the muscle systems of Apatemon was examined by immunocytochemistry, using antibodies to known myoactive substances: the flatworm FMRFamide-related neuropeptide (FaRP), GYIRFamide, and the biogenic amine, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). Strong immunostaining for both peptidergic and serotoninergic components was found in the central nervous system and confocal microscopic mapping of the distribution of these neuroactive substances revealed they occupied separate neuronal pathways. In the peripheral nervous system, GYIRFamide-immunoreactivity was extensive and, in particular, associated with the innervation of all attachment structures; serotoninergic fibres, on the other hand, were localized to the oral sucker and pharynx and to regions along the anterior margins of the forebody.


1960 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiyoshi Hama

The fine structure of the main dorsal and ventral circulatory trunks and of the subneural vessels and capillaries of the ventral nerve cord of the earthworm, Eisenia foetida, has been studied with the electron microscope. All of these vessels are lined internally by a continuous extracellular basement membrane varying in thickness (0.03 to 1 µ) with the vessel involved. The dorsal, ventral, and subneural vessels display inside this membrane scattered flattened macrophagic or leucocytic cells called amebocytes. These lie against the inner lining of the basement membrane, covering only a small fraction of its surface. They have long, attenuated branching cell processes. All of these vessels are lined with a continuous layer of unfenestrated endothelial cells displaying myofilaments and hence qualifying for the designation of "myoendothelial cells." The degree of muscular specialization varies over a spectrum, however, ranging from a delicate endowment of thin myofilaments in the capillary myoendothelial cells to highly specialized myoendothelial cells in the main pulsating dorsal blood trunk, which serves as the worm's "heart" or propulsive "aorta." The myoendothelial cells most specialized for contraction display well organized sarcoplasmic reticulum and myofibrils with thick and thin myofilaments resembling those of the earthworm body wall musculature. In the ventral circulatory trunk, circular and longitudinal myofilaments are found in each myoendothelial cell. In the dorsal trunk, the lining myoendothelial cells contain longitudinal myofilaments. Outside these cells are circular muscle cells. The lateral parts of the dorsal vessels have an additional outer longitudinal muscle layer. The blood plasma inside all of the vessels shows scattered particles representing the circulating earthworm blood pigment, erythrocruorin.


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