VALVE DILATOR NEURONS OF THE LATERAL ARTERIES OF THE ISOPOD CRUSTACEAN BATHYNOMUS-DOEDERLEINI

There are three anterior arteries and five pairs of lateral arteries ( LA1-5) which arise from the heart of Bathynomus. The cardioarterial va lves of LA1 to 5 are innervated one-by-one by the Ist to 5th lateral c ardiac nerves (LCN1-5) which are valve dilators. The valve in LA5 is i nnervated by LCN5, which is composed of two axons. Neuronal cell bodie s of the two LCNS axons were identified, by means of electrophysiology and by dye injection, in the perineural sac-like structure of the gan glionic sheath nearest the midline of the posterior halves of the 2nd and 3rd abdominal ganglia. The neurons were also found to send both de scending and ascending interganglionic axons beyond the adjacent gangl ia. It is likely that there is no direct physiological connection betw een the neurons, since activation of either one of the neurons did not alter the impulse pattern of the other.