A Long Look at Neuromuscular Junctions in Nematodes

Nematodes are known to be unique among animals both with respect to the structure of their somatic muscle cells and to the spatial relations these cells have with the nervous system. It has been suggested that the nematode neuromuscular junction might also be unique. Although a century of investigation of the anatomy and physiology of round worms had shed little light on the question, recent work in electronmicroscopy and electrophysiology indicates that nematode neuromuscular junctions are not fundamentally different, either structurally or functionally, from those of other animals.