Adductor muscles of brachiopods: activation and contraction
- 1 February 1978
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Canadian Science Publishing in Canadian Journal of Zoology
- Vol. 56 (2) , 315-323
- https://doi.org/10.1139/z78-043
Abstract
The brachiopod shell is closed by 2 pairs of adductor muscles. The striate adductors are twitch-type muscles causing quick incomplete closure; they are activated by single depolarizations, fatigue rapidly and cannot be tetanized. The smooth adductors are activated by repetitive depolarizations and do not respond to single stimuli; they contract slowly and develop tetanic tension at a low stimulatin frequency (10 Hz). The patterns of muscle activation and the conduction pathways in response to mechanical stimulation are described. Several types of reflex including a closing reflex and a resistance reflex were identified. [Species studied were Terebratalia transversa and Terebratulina unguicula].This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: