Amphibian Morphogenesis

ISBN-13: 9781461297772 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 316 str.

Harold Fox

Opis

This book came about as a result of a review I had written earlier on fea tures of cellular changes occurring during anuran metamorphosis. Only a limited treatment of this subject was possible in such a circumscribed work and only specific examples of organic change were dealt with. Thus the sins of omission weighed heavily, for so much information could not be included to provide a more comprehensive and authenticated account of the elaborate, complex, and far-reaching changes that an aquatic larva undergoes to become a terrestrial froglet. A good deal of my working life has been spent investigating amphib ians, especially their larval developmental morphology during metamor phosis, first at the level of light microscopy and in later years by electronmicroscopy. Initially I was particularly concerned with morpho logical homologies of a variety of larval structures, such as the cranial and pharyngeal skeleton and the nerves and musculature, in order to learn more about amphibian phylogeny, for during my pre-and early postgrad uate years G. R. Beer and D. M. S. Watson inspired an undying interest in and respect for vertebrate comparative anatomy. However, it now seems to be that amphibian phylogenetic relationships are best dealt with by the paleontologists, so ably demonstrated by D. M. S. Watson and A. S. Romer and the contemporary enthusiasts in this field like A. L. Panchen, R. L. Carroll, E. Jarvik, and K. S. Thompson among a host of others, particularly in the USA."

Spis treści

Section I. Amphibians.- 1. The Origin of the Amphibians.- 2. Living Amphibians.- 3. Metamorphosis in Urodeles.- 4. Metamorphosis in Anurans.- 5. General Consideration of the Endocrinal Mechanisms Responsible for Anuran Larval Metamorphosis 10.- Section II. Staging of Embryonic and Larval Amphibians.- 6. Anurans and Urodeles.- 7. Caecilia (Apoda or Gymnophiona).- Summary.- 8. Tables of Staged Specimens.- Section III. Organic Origin, Development and Change In Anuran Larvae to the Completion of Metamorphosis.- 9. Introduction.- 10. The Thyroid Gland.- Origin and Development.- Fine Structure of the Thyroid.- Biosynthetic Activity and Enzymology of the Thyroid.- 11. The Pituitary Gland.- 12. The Hypothalamus and Median Eminence.- 13. The Ultimobranchial Body.- 14. The Parathyroid Glands.- 15. The Larval Skeleton—Specific Features During Metamorphosis.- Origin and Development of Skeletal Components.- Hormonal Control of Skeletogeny.- 16. The Notochord.- 17. The Central Nervous System.- The Mesencephalic V Nucleus.- Rohon-Beard Cells.- Mauthner Cells.- Lateral Motor Column Neurones.- Thyroid Hormones and the LMC Neurones: Fine Structure and Their degeneration.- The Larval Tail Nerve Cord.- 18. Larval Musculature.- Somite Origin and Myogenesis.- Differentiation of Myoblasts—Fine Structure.- The Fine Structure of Differentiated Larval Musculature.- Degeneration of the Larval Tail Musculature During Metamorphic Climax.- 19. The Blood.- Origin in the Larva.- Erythrocyte Hemoglobin.- Changeover of Larval to Adult Hb During Metamorphosis.- Thyroid Hormones and the Blood During Metamorphosis.- 20. The External and Internal Gill Filaments.- 21. Balancers.- 22. Features of the Larval Respiratory System.- 23. The Alimentary Canal.- The Ultrastructure of the Alimentary Canal.- Thyroid Hormones and Intestinal Changes During Metamorphosis.- 24. The Pancreas.- 25. The Liver.- The Fine Structure of the Liver.- Liver Cellular Changes During Metamorphosis.- Liver Cellular Proliferation During Metamorphosis: Do the Same Cells Change Their Biosynthetic Activity?.- 26. The Pronephros.- Origin in the Larva.- Functional Activity of the Pronephros.- Relationship of the Pronephros to the Thyroid Hormones.- Pronephros Gross Structure and Size.- Fine Structure of the Pronephros.- Pronephric Degeneration.- 27. The Lymph Glands.- 28. The Skin of Amphibian Larvae.- Early Epidermal Cellular Specialization.- General Structure of Larval Skin and a Consideration of Its Cellular Diversity.- Skin Color and Color Change.- Degeneration of Larval Tail and Body Skin.- Thyroid Hormones and Larval Skin.- Skin Biochemistry.- Section IV. Cellular Differentiation, Ontogeny, and Molecular Biology.- 29. A Consideration of Cellular Diversity.- Molecular Structure.- Cell Size and Shape.- Cell Organelles.- Aggregate Solid Inclusions.- Microfilaments.- Microtubules.- Membranes.- 30. Early Cleavage Cells and Their Nucleocytoplasmic Relationship.- 31. Cellular Differentiation During Embryogenesis to Premetamorphosis.- The Amphibian Zygote, Cleavage, and the Blastula.- The Gastrula: Induction and Cellular Differentiation.- The Mechanism of Induction.- So-Called “Intrinsic” Properties of Embryonic and Larval Cells.- Inducers and Hormones.- 32. Appraisal of Morphological and Functional Cellular Changes During Metamorphosis.- Molecular Biology of Cellular Differentiation During Metamorphosis.- Receptor Sites—A Brief Review.- Receptor (Binding) Sites for Thyroid Hormones in Amphibian Larval Cells.- A Summary: Thyroid Hormones and Larval Metamorphosis.- 33. Epilog.- References.- Species Index.