title: Parasitic castration of Eurhomalea lenticularis (Bivalvia: Veneridae) by a digenetic trematode: quantitative histological analysis.
abstract: The clam Eurhomalea lenticularis may be parasitized by digenean trematodes of the family Plagiorchidae, specifically in the gonads (parasitic castration). A quantitative histological analysis of the parasitized gonads demonstrated a significant decrease in gonadal area, in the size of individual acini, and in the numbers of differentiated germ cells compared to unparasitized clams. Castration may be caused by mechanical compression due to trematode sporocyst growth. However, the uniform loss of germ cells in areas without sporocysts suggests that a more generalized mechanism is responsible. We suggest that parasitic castration has a primary effect on the host's neuroendocrine and gametogenic systems that regulate gamete production.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología, Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Químicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Casilla 5030, Valparaíso, Chile.
authors.forename: Katherinne
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Valderrama
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oliva
authors.forename: Bernardita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000469:parasitology*; D002677:Chile; D005260:Female; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology*; D006066:Gonads / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology*; D006652:Histological Techniques; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008297:Male; D014200:Trematoda / Q000502:physiology*