Histological and Functional Studies on the Genital Tract of Lymnaea stagnalis appressa Say

The reproductive system of the pond snail Lymnaea has long been the subject of study, but there is still much about its anatomy and physiology that remains to be clarified. Much of the literature on reproduction in Lymnaea relates to mating behavior, reproductive cycles considered ecologically, embryology, and gross morphology. Baudelot (1863), Eisig (1869), and Crabb (1927) have described the gross morphology of the reproductive tract in Lymnaea. There is good agreement in these various descriptions; in the present work, however, certain facts have come to light such as to make a complete redescription of the genital tract advisable. The histological picture of the reproductive system in Lymnaea is only briefly mentioned in the literature (Klotz, 1889 and Crabb, 1927). In fact, the only detailed histological account of this system in a basommatophoran is the description of Physa by Slugocka (1913).