Morphology and Histology of the Central Nervous System and Ultrastructure of Neurosecretory Cells of Female Spotted Babylon,Babylonia areolata

Abstract

ABSTRACT The nervous system of the female spotted Babylon, Babylonia areolata Link 1807, consists of left and right pairs of buccal ganglia, pedal ganglia, cerebral ganglia, pleural ganglia, and parietal ganglia, and a single left-side visceral ganglion. Each ganglion has an outer cortex and an inner medulla. The outer cortex contains three cell types: neurosecretory (NS) cells, neurons (NR), and neuroglia (NG). The medulla consists of NG and nerve fibers. The ultrastructural studies of the NS cells in each ganglion demonstrate that the buccal, pleural, and pedal ganglia contain neurosecretory granules (NSg) type I and II cells. The NS cells in the cerebral ganglia are NSg types I, II, and III, whereas in the parietal ganglia their NSg are types I, II, III, and IV. Furthermore, the NS cells of the visceral ganglion are of NSg types I and III. The different structures of NSg in the NS cells in the ganglia indicate that they may produce different neurosecretions.