RELATIONS BETWEEN PRE- AND POST-ANAEROBIC OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND OXYGEN TENSION IN SOME FRESH WATER SNAILS

¹ Federal Security Agency, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Microbiological Institute, Bethesda, Maryland

1. The respiration of four species of fresh water snails was somewhat dependent on the oxygen tension below 21 per cent oxygen with only minor differences among the various species.

2. The degree of dependency was influenced little, if any, by alteration of the metabolic rate of Australorbis glabratus, but some changes were obtained in the cases of Helisoma duryi and Lymnaea stagnalis.

3. All species showed a long lasting respiratory rebound after 16 hours anaerobiosis. The post-anaerobic respiration was more dependent on the oxygen tension than the pre-anaerobic respiration if referred to the normal rate shown at 21 per cent oxygen. But if the post-anaerobic rates were compared with the rates sustained pre-anaerobically at an identical oxygen tension, an approximately equal percentage increase was observed over a wide range of tensions.

4. The implications of these observations and auxiliary observations dealing with the rate of the heart-beat under various conditions are discussed insofar as they shed light on the mechanism of the pre- and post-anaerobic respiration. It is concluded that diffusion alone cannot be the sole limiting factor that reduces the over-all oxygen consumption when the tension is lowered below a critical point, and the idea is discussed that the oxygen tension as such may be more important for certain cellular processes than usually assumed.