Studies on wound healing, and an estimation of the rate of regeneration, of the siphon of Scrobicularia plana (da Costa)

Wound closure of the siphon of Scrobicularia plana (da Costa), after amputation of the tip, is complete within 48 h. Once the lesion has been plugged by connective tissue new epithelial tissue begins to grow and is fully formed 96 h after wounding. As the epithelial cells are being formed, regeneration of the siphon commences at a rate of ≈ 6 mg per wk. When expressed in terms of percentage weight increase of the total siphon weight (20%) this rate is comparable with that calculated for other bivalves. The siphon continues to grow until the original size is attained. When small amounts of siphon are removed (15% of total siphon), regeneration is of little energetic cost, even when animals are starved. When greater amounts are, however, removed from unfed animals (e.g. 50% of the total siphon) regeneration takes place at the expense of the body condition, the animal using 0.6 kJ of body energy to replace 0.2 kJ of siphon.