Scanning electron microscopy of tegument-free sensory receptor of Schistosoma mansoni.

Immersion of adult Schistosoma mansoni in buffered trypsin for a short time removed the sponge-like tegument to the level of the basal lamina, effectively uncovering the basal lamina and intact sensory receptors. Stripping the tegument from the cilium and sensory bulb exposed the crown of the bulb and its axon-like process. A cilium protrudes from the bulbs through a collar-like supporting structure that resembles the rim and spokes of a wheel. The exposed axon-like process of some bulbs penetrated the basal lamina without ramifying and disappeared into the musculature; the ramifying process of others remained on the upper surface of the lamina for some distance. Identical micromorphology of the sensory receptor by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) (Silk and Spence, 1969; Hockley, 1973), and the similar appearance of the surface of the bulb and cilia and the ciliary supporting structure by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) suggests that all of the receptors probably perform the same sensory function.