The digestive system of the lobster, Homarus americanus: I. Connective tissue of the digestive gland.

Abstract

The digestive gland (midgut gland, hepatopancreas) of the American lobster, Homarus americanus (Decapoda: Nephropidae), has one continuous network of connective tissue in which the tubules are embedded and suspended and which forms the limiting layer of the organ. Light- and electron-microscopical observations show that the outer connective-tissue layer investing the entire digestive gland is a typical, fibrous connective tissue, containing hemal sinuses and a variety of cell types embedded in a collagenous matrix. This outer layer is continuous with the connective tissue among the tubules, which lacks a substantial fibrous matrix and lies peripheral to the digestive epithelium of each tubule. It consists of a complex, two-layered, epithelial basement membrane, an area containing cells, a tunica propria, and hemal sinuses. Several types of cells are present between the basement membrane and the tunica propria: contractile cells form a network of circular and longitudinal processes around each tubule, and several types of granulocytes are found in areas where tubules abut. The previously applied terms "myoepithelium" and "myoendothelium" are inappropriate to describe the tissue among the tubules. Instead, the extraepithelial elements are interpreted as forming an extensive connective tissue supporting the functional units of the digestive gland.