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Morphology of metazoan circulatory systems

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Summary

The majority of large, bilaterally-symmetric animals possess two structurally distinct systems of internal fluid transport, the coelomic circulatory system and the blood vascular system (BVS). The coelomic circulatory system is generally situated laterally, lined by a continuous layer of mesodermally-derived cells and moves fluid with cilia or body wall muscles. The BVS occurs in extracellular matrix with the principal vessels situated dorsally and ventrally. The vessels are typically unlined by cells. Fluid is propelled by contraction of overlying muscle cells. Co-occurrence of two systems of internal fluid transport is explained by a segmentation hypothesis: Most large, triploblastic animals are segmented with at least two or three fluid-filled compartments separated by septal bulkheads. Because exchange surfaces (gas, nutrient) are regionally restricted, selective pressure favors a fluid transport system that bridges septal bulkheads. The BVS fulfills this requirement because it is situated in extracellular matrix that is non-cellular and continuous throughout organisms. A survey of animals indicates that all segmented taxa possess a BVS, except Sipuncula, where compensation sacs function as BVS analogues. Loss of the BVS in Hirudinea and other annelids is correlated with the disappearance of septa. Funicular vessels in Bryozoa are compared with BVS in other lophophorates. The fluid transport system of Nemertini and some platyhelminths is shown to conform to the definition of a coelomic circulatory system. This investigation supports Liwanow's proposition that the BVS evolved as the progressive modification of extracellular matrix in triploblastic animals. Evolution of coelomic circulatory systems is unresolved.

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  1. Department of Zoology, Clemson University, 29631, Clemson, SC, USA

    E. E. Ruppert

  2. Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 02138, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Karen J. Carle

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Ruppert, E.E., Carle, K.J. Morphology of metazoan circulatory systems. Zoomorphology 103, 193–208 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00310477

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