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A light and electron microscopic study of the ciliated urn of Phascolosoma agassizii (sipunculida)

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Summary

The free swimming ciliated urn found in the coelomic fluid of Phascolosoma agassizii has been studied by electron microscopy. The urn is a multicellular structure composed of three cell types: (a) ciliated cells which possibly function in capturing cell debris and foreign particles; (b) cupola cells which are capable of phagocytozing latex particles; and (c) lobe cells which are capable of phagocytozing carbon particles. The lobes are separated from the ciliated cells by a semilunar area, with mucoprotein staining characteristics, containing fibrils which appear to be the structural support for the urn. Ciliated cells and lobes are attached to the semilunar area by hemidesmosomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Abteilung für Pathologie 1, Universität Ulm, Ulm, Germany

    Linda Dybas M.A.

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  1. Linda Dybas M.A.
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This work is based on a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in the Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

I wish to thank Dr. John C. Lee, formerly of the Department of Pathology, University of California Medical Center, San Francisco, for encouragement and use of his electron microscope facilities

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Dybas, L. A light and electron microscopic study of the ciliated urn of Phascolosoma agassizii (sipunculida). Cell Tissue Res. 169, 67–75 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00219308

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00219308

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