CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

The presence and position of the ovarian epithelium (OE) have been described in early studies of brachyuran with some limitations mainly because the ovary of crabs is a compact structure when it is mature. This research was aimed at studying the functional anatomy of OE and its relationship with the follicles and the oviduct epithelium in C. quadricarinatus. This is an interesting biological model because of the presence of the ovarian lumen at all developmental stages including the mature ones. Thirty females were dissected, fixed, cut and stained. The ovary of C. quadricarinatus is a sac-like structure whose sheath is composed of three layers. The innermost is the OE, a monolayer of flat to cubic cells that delimits the ovary lumen and develops folds that surround the follicles containing mainly secondary oocytes. The middle one is the muscular tunica, which is composed of three or four layers of muscular cells, while the outermost consists of a single layer of connective tissue. The proliferative zone is located in the ovarian epithelium and the growing oocytes are located between the ovarian epithelium and the external layer. At ovulation each empty ovarian epithelium surrounding an ovulated secondary oocyte resembles a flower, while oocytes plus its follicular cells are found within ovarian lumen. The oocytes are then transferred into the oviduct and oviposited through female gonopores. In the oviducts the inner layer is composed of a folded monolayer of cubic-cylindrical and high secretory cells which is continuous with the OE, while the middle and the outer one have a similar structure than in the ovary. This ovary design and OE position have some differences with respect to the studies done on Brachyura, which are discussed within a phylogenetic framework. Financial support: ANPCYT (PICT 2004-953), UBACYT 2004-2007 (project X143), Antorchas Foundation (project 4248-138). POSTER PRESENTATION

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