XIX. On the structure, functions, and homologies of the manducatory organs in the class Rotifera

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Abstract
1. An examination of the whole alimentary system in the class Rotifera would include—The buccal funnel ; the manducatory apparatus, with its muscular bulb and the muscular bands by which it is retained in situ ; the salivary glands ; the oesophagus ; the pancreatic glands ; the stomach ; the hepatic follicles ; the caeca ; the intestine ; the rectum ; and the cloaca. Of these, however, the manducatory organs will occupy my principal attention ; and I shall endeavour to trace them throughout the class ; and to show, that the various forms which they assume can all be reduced to a com­mon type. I also propose to inquire, what are the real homologues of these organs in the other classes of animals ; and what light we can gather, from their structure, on the question of the zoological rank of the Rotifera. 2. Considering the attractive appearance which the Wheel-animals present, and the facilities which are afforded for their investigation by their abundance—since they are found in great variety in almost every river, lake, pond, and ditch, —it is rather remarkable that they have been so little studied.

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