Abstract
DURING the course of my present investigation into the functional anatomy of the gut of Arenicola marina, I have found that Ashworth1 describes the sub-intestinal blood vessels (sinuses) along part of their length only. He states that these vessels "commence just behind the heart and may be traced to the level of the twelfth setæ, behind which point they disappear". In dissection, with the use of a binocular microscope, it is possible to trace out these vessels, which have been renamed the sub-enteric vessels, along the whole length of the gut. Indeed, they are visible with the naked eye. This observation I believe to be of importance as it shows that the same basic pattern underlies the blood system in all parts of the gut. Serial sections have confirmed this point.
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Ashworth, J. H., L.M.B.C. Monograph "Arenicola" (1904).
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KERMACK, D. Blood System of the Gut of Arenicola marina. Nature 162, 576 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/162576a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/162576a0
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