昆虫生理学生物学 (594).pdfVIP

17 The Circulatory System 1. Introduction The circulatory system of insects, like that of all arthropods, is of the “open” type; that is, the fluid that circulates is not restricted to a network of conducting vessels as, for example, in vertebrates, but flows freely among the body organs. An open system results from the devel- opment, in evolution, of a hemocoel rather than a true coelom. A consequence of the open system is that insects have only one extracellular fluid, hemolymph, in contrast to verte- brates, which have two such fluids, blood and lymph. The occurrence of an open system does not mean that hemolymph simply bathes the organs it surrounds because usually thin gran- ular membranes separate the tissues from the hemolymph itself. Insects generally possess pumping structures and various diaphragms to ensure that hemolymph flows throughout the body, reaching the extremities of even the most delicate appendages. As the only extracel- lular fluid, it is perhaps not surprising that the hemolymph, in general, serves the functions of both blood and lymph of vertebrates. Thus, the fluid fraction (plasma) is important in providing the correct milieu for body cells, is the transport system for nutrients, hormones, and metabolic wastes, and contains elements of the immune system, while the cellular com- ponents (hemocytes) provide the defense mechanism against foreign organisms that enter the body and are important in wound repair and the metabolism of specific compounds. 2. Structure The primary pump for moving hemolymph around the body is a middorsal vessel that runs more or less the entire length of the body (Figure 17.1). The posterior portion of the vessel has ostia (valves) and is sometimes known as the heart, whereas the cephalothoracic portion, which is often a simple tube, may be termed the aorta (Figure 17.1A). In some insects the heart is