Ultrastructural study of pathological effects on the female reproductive system ofSaduria entomonL. (Crustaeea, Isopoda) from the Baltic infected withCryptococcus laurentii(Kufferath) Skinner

Abstract

Summary A variety of pathological lesions were observed by electron microscopy in the female reproductive tract of Saduria entomon naturally infected with Cryptococcus laurentii. Pathological changes were clearly visible in the epithelial and muscle cells of the distal part of the ovaries and oviducts and in the cells making up the fertilization chamber. The lesions were characterized by the occurrence of lysosomes, a decrease in cytoplasmic density, damaged mitochondria, and disorganization of myofilaments. In the epithelial cells of the ovaries, the chromatin was concentrated in large granules mainly on the peripheries of their nuclei. In some epithelial cells of the distal parts of the ovaries, the plasma and nuclear membranes were disrupted. Some of the damaged cells had lost contact with the basal lamina and were observed in the lumen as cell debris. The most radical changes, however, were observed in the oviducts in which the epithelial and muscle cells suffered complete destruction, and what was le...