A fine structural analysis of the cuticle, epidermal epithelium, and underlying fibrous tissue of the earthworm is presented. The extreme scarcity or absence of fibroblasts in this animal is pointed out. This finding is further evidence for the epithelial origin of the cuticular fibers, and suggests that at least some of the collagenous connective tissue fibers in the interior of this animal ar...

The gut of many soil arthropods contains a complex and mutualistic microbial community that usually assists the host with digestion. The same is probably true for earthworms, but the nature and function of the microbiota inhabiting their gut are virtually unknown. In this paper, we studied the microbial community in the gut content of the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris L. and in the bulk soil b...

Nerve cells of different functions cannot be differentiated histologically by staining methods. In order to prove chemical differences it is necessary t o affect the function of a given type of neuron by the action of a chemical agent. Thus Baglioni 1 has demonstrated a chemical difference between sensory and motor cells in the frog and the squid, by showing that phenol is an excitant for the m...

In hydrostatic skeletons, it is the internal fluid under pressure surrounded by a body wall in tension (rather than a rigid lever) that enables the stiffening of the organism, the antagonism of muscles and the transmission of force from the muscles to the environment. This study examined the ontogenetic effects of body size on force production by an organism supported with a hydrostatic skeleto...

Abstract Discharge of untreated industrial effluents has been associated with soil contamination. Biochemical alterations in Lumbricus terrestris and remediation capacity Azadirachta indica tree from effluent discharge locations Challawa (A B) Kura village (control location C) were assessed. Levels nitrate, phosphate, iron, chloride, hardness at A B significantly ( p < 0.05) higher than thos...