Histology description of the male and hermafrodite genital vias of the escargots Achatina fulica and Achatina monochromatica

Abstract

The aim of this work was to make histological description of the male and hermaphrodite genital system of escargots of the species Achatina fulica and Achatina monochromatica. Ten adult copies of each species were used for such analysis. After a selective process, weighting and measuring the shell, the specimens were sacrificed by freezing in freezer to -2ºC for approximately 10min. Reproductive organs were exposed by longitudinal incision made in the cranial extremity and by accompanying the sprain of the body, until the tail extremity. Each animal was dissected over a Petri plate, under immersion in 10% phormol for better preservation of the tissues. Representative fragments of each segment of the reproductive system were collected and it was observed that their histological structure did not present evident differences, except for the Achatina fulica ovotestis in which a larger number of pigmented cells was observed in the germinative epithelium than in the same epithelium in the Achatina monochromatica.