Cardiac and circulatory control in decapod Crustacea with comparisons to molluscs

Summary In this review I will attempt to identify the circulatory requirements a decapod is likely to encounter and how the heart is controlled to meet these demands. The decapod heart has been designed as an autonomous system endowed with an intrinsic autorhythmic pacemaker ganglion. Muscle fibers are multiply-innervated and capable of producing regenerative action potentials. This vitally important organ has been designed to be nearly fail-safe. Stroke volume is more important than heart rate in determining cardiac output. Stretch sensitivity of the cardiac ganglion and of the myocardium as well as extrinsic nervous and hormonal modulation of the heart can all contribute to changes in stroke volume. It may be advantageous to an animal to switch the circulation between various vascular beds to meet changing perfusion demands. Neuronal and hormonal mechanisms have been identified which exert differential control of the cardioarterial valves, but it is not known whether switching does occur and if so whether these valves participate in the process. Changes in peripheral resistance can also redirect circulatory flow. The circulatory and ventilatory systems demonstrate coordinated rate changes which suggest that the heart is responding to meet changing ventilatory performance requirements. This coupling is controlled both by the hydrostatic pressure pulses generated within the branchial chambers and by common higher level nervous inputs. Comparisons of the cardiovascular systems of crustaceans and molluscs, based on the papers presented at this symposium, are high-lighted.