Abstract
The ctenophoran integument consists basically of a single-layered epidermis which covers the entire body, including appendages such as the tentacular apparatus, the lobes and auricles, and Unes the stomodeal cavity (generally referred to as the gastric cavity). This integument is always devoid of any cuticle or hard secretion, but is permanently covered by a film of mucus. It rests on a gelatinous mesoglea, which is an unusual connective tissue devoid of collagen and elastin fibers (Franc et al., 1976), and harboring mesenchymal cells and numerous true muscle cells. The mesoglea may be considered as the internal milieu of the ctenophore; it is fed and oxygenated by a system of gastrovascular channels, which may be very elaborate in large species. Franc (1972) demonstrated that specialized ciliated cells, located in the canal walls and grouped in ciliated rosettes, regulated the relative ionic and osmotic composition of the mesoglea.
“In essence we would argue here that a critical step in metazoan evolution was the development of ‘tight’ external epithelia enclosing inner spaces well isolated from the external medium” (Mackie, 1984).
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Hernandez-Nicaise, ML., Nicaise, G., Reese, T.S. (1989). Intercellular Junctions in Ctenophore Integument. In: Anderson, P.A.V. (eds) Evolution of the First Nervous Systems. NATO ASI Series, vol 188. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0921-3_2
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