title: Electrophysiology of acanthocephalan body wall muscles.
abstract: Body wall muscles of an acanthocephalan Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus were studied by means of scanning and light microscopy and intracellular recording of potentials. Three types of spontaneous potential changes were found: larger (L) potentials which usually exhibited overshoot and were as large as 65 mV; smaller symmetric (A) potentials approximately 15 mV in amplitude; and even smaller asymmetric (S) potentials which sometimes reached 10 mV. The potentials recorded depended upon the position of the electrode in the anterior-posterior, as well as the medial-lateral, axis. Tetrodotoxin eliminated L but not S potentials. Ouabain lengthened the time for depolarization of L potentials and depolarized the membrane potentials. It is suggested that the rete system activates the body wall muscles in Acanthocephala.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901, USA.
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: T T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Dunagan
mesh_terms: D000049:Acanthocephala / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D000818:Animals; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000502:physiology*; D010042:Ouabain / Q000494:pharmacology; D013779:Tetrodotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D013779:Tetrodotoxin; D010042:Ouabain