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The Biological Bulletin, Vol 185, Issue 3 388-392, Copyright © 1993 by Marine Biological Laboratory

CELL BIOLOGY

Postembryonic Growth of Two Peripheral Sensory Systems in the Medicinal Leech Hirudo medicinalis

L. Gascoigne and A. McVean
Department of Biology, Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 OEX, UK

The midbody segments of Hirudo medicinalis have two types of sensory cilia that project from the skin into the surrounding water. These are the proposed mechanosensory S cilia and the putative chemosensory G cilia. The cells bearing these cilia are clustered together into structures known as sensilla. The skin of each midbody segment is externally divided into five annuli. Fourteen large sensilla carrying S and G cilia are found on the central annulus of each segment. Small sensilla carrying only G cilia are found on all five annuli. In this paper we show a positive correlation between the size of a neural sensillum and the number of S and G cilia it contains. Any one leech contains a range of sizes of neural sensilla, but the average area increases with the weight of the leech. In contrast, the annular sensilla show only a modest increase in size with leech weight.




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Copyright © 1993 by the Marine Biological Laboratory.