The localisation and distribution of the serotoninergic nerve elements was studied for the first time in the flatworm Chimaericola leptogaster (Leuckart, 1830) using immunocytochemical methodology and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The musculature was investigated by histochemical staining of actin filaments; scanning electron microscopy was used to identify the sensory structures on the worm's surface. Uniciliated, bi-ciliated and multiciliated sensory endings have been described on the worm's surface. The morphological data demonstrate the presence of circular, longitudinal and diagonal muscles that comprise the musculature of C. leptogaster in the anterior, median and posterior body regions. Well-developed radial and circular muscle fibres were also observed surrounding the genital pore, two vaginae and in clumps of the haptor. The study revealed the presence of biogenic amine, serotonin, in the central and peripheral nervous systems of C. leptogaster: in the neurons and fibres of the cephalic ganglia and ventral nerve cord, in the innervation of reproductive system compartments. The localised sites of the serotoninergic elements point to important roles of serotonin in monogenean reproductive processes and, possibly, in the regulation of muscle function.
This paper presents the results of a study of the muscular system of the trematode
D. lanceatum, the causative agent of dicrocoeliosis, a widespread parasitic disease
of the grass-feeding ruminants. As a result of the used fluorophore-conjugated
phalloidin, data were obtained on the organized muscles of the body wall, attachment
organs, and digestive, reproductive and excretory systems of D. lanceatum. The
body wall musculature is represented by three layers of muscle fibers: circular,
longitudinal and diagonal. The character of the muscle fiber location is different in
the anterior, middle and posterior parts of the body. The paper describes several types
of muscle fibers found in the oral and ventral suckers, and digestive, reproductive
and excretory systems of the parasite. An analysis of the data obtained and available
in the literature showed the presence, along with common features, of differences
in the organization of the muscular system of various trematode species. The results
obtained expand and deepen the understanding of the trematode morphology, the
organization of their muscular system, and make it possible to detect similar and
different features in the structure of the muscular system of organs and tissues of
species of various taxonomic groups of trematodes. In addition, the study of the
muscular system of trematodes may be important in identifying new additional
diagnostic criteria necessary for solving a number of taxonomic tasks.
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