ABSTRACT
Octopus vulgaris Cuvier has a fully enclosed blood system that includes large blood sinuses behind the eyes and around the gut. Experiments on the response of the hearts in exercise and hypoxic stress (Wells, 1979; Wells & Wells, 1983) and the response of the system to drugs or extracts from neurosecretory systems that discharge into the bloodstream (Wells & Mangold, 1980; Wells, 1983) have revealed a number of situations in which it would be useful to know the mean circulation time, the minimal number of heartbeats needed for blood to return to the hearts, and/or the extent to which the sinuses constitute a reserve of blood which can be mobilized in times of stress.
© 1984 by Company of Biologists
1984
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