THE INFLUENCE OF WEAK COMBINED MAGNETIC-F IELD ON THE RATE OF REGENERATION IN PLANARIANS DUGESIA-TIGRINA

It is known, that amputation of the head portion of a planarian is acc ompanied by the release of neurotransmitters from severed nervous fibe rs to the extracellular space located close to the wound (post-blastem a), which induces the pool of undifferentiated cells (neoblasts) to di vide. 'Activated proliferation of neoblasts, which may be quantitative ly estimated from the measurements of the mitotic index in postblastem a, provides the cellular material for the regeneration of blastema. As regeneration continues blastema increases in size: after 2-3 days of regeneration the morphological parameters - length and area of blastem a and of the whole regenerant - may be measured with the use of comput er image analysis technique. We report here, that weak combined magnet ic field tuned to the parametric resonance for Ca2+-ions substantially changes the rate of regeneration In planarians, which manifests itsel f as an increase in the rate of mitosis in postblastema and as an acce leration of the rate of blastema growth.