Water vascular system

The water vascular system is a hydraulic system used by the tube feet are arranged in two rows, one along each
echinoderms, such as sea stars and sea urchins, for loco- side of the groove. In some species, however, there are
motion, food and waste transportation, and respiration.[1] alternately long and short lateral canals, giving the appear-
The system is composed of canals connecting numerous ance of two rows on each side of the groove, for four in
tube feet. Echinoderms move by alternately contracting total.[3]:933939
muscles that force water into the tube feet, causing them Contraction of the ampullae causes the podia to stretch as
to extend and push against the ground, then relaxing to
water is brought into them. This whole process allows for
allow the feet to retract.[1][2] movement, and is quite powerful but extremely slow.[4]
The exact structure of the system varies somewhat be- The central ring canal, in addition to connecting the ra-
tween the ve classes of echinoderm. dial canals to each other and to the stone canal, also has
a number of other specialised structures on the inner sur-
face. In between each radial canal, in many sea star
1 Sea stars species, there lies a muscular sac called a polian vesi-
cle. The ring canal also has four or ve pairs of complex
pouches, called Tiedemanns bodies. These apparently
produce coelomocytes, amoeboid cells somewhat similar
to the blood cells of vertebrates.[3]
Although the contents of the water vascular system are
essentially sea water, apart from coelomocytes, the uid
also contains some protein and high levels of potassium
salts.[3]:933939

2 Ophiuroids
Ophiuroids, the group including brittle stars and basket
stars, have a somewhat dierent water vascular system
from sea stars, despite their supercially similar appear-
Madreporite of Asterias ance. The madreporite is located on the underside of the
animal, usually in one of the jaw plates. The stone canal
runs upwards to the ring canal, typically located in a cir-
In sea stars, water enters the system through a sieve-like
cular depression on the upper (i.e. internal) surface of the
structure on the upper surface of the animal, called the
jaws. The ring canal has four polian vesicles.[3]:957
madreporite. This overlies a small sac, or ampulla con-
nected to a duct termed the stone canal, which is, as its Ophiuroids have no ambulacral groove, and the radial
name implies, commonly lined with calcareous material. canals instead run through the solid bone-like ossicles of
The stone canal runs to a circular ring canal, from which the arms. Unlike sea stars, the tube feet are paired in-
radial canals run outwards along the ambulacral grooves. stead of staggered, and there are no ampullae. Instead, a
Each arm of a sea star has one such groove on its under- simple valve at the upper end of the foot helps to control
side, while, in sea urchins, they run along the outside of water pressure in the tube feet, along with contraction of
the body.[3]:933939 the associated canals.[3]:957
Each side of the radial canals gives rise to a row of bulb-
like ampullae, which are connected via lateral canals. In
sea stars these are always staggered, so that an ampulla 3 Sea urchins
on the left follows one on the right, and so on down the
length of the radial canal. The ampullae are connected The madreporite of sea urchins is located within one of
to suckerlike podia. The entire structure is called a tube the plates surrounding the anus on the upper surface of the
foot. In most cases, the small lateral canals connecting the animal. The stone canal descends from the madreporite
ampullae to the radial canal are of equal length, so that to the ring canal, which lies around the oesophagus, and

1
2 6 REFERENCES

includes a number of polian vesicles. Because sea urchins 6 References

have no arms, the ve radial canals simply run along the
inside of the solid skeletal test, arching upwards towards
the anus.[3]:972973
The ampullae branching o from either side of the radial
canals give rise to ten rows of tube feet, which penetrate
through holes in the test to the outside. As in sea stars,
the ampullae are arranged alternately, but in most (though
not all) cases they split into two as they pass through the
test before merging again on the outer side. The tube feet
of sea urchins are often highly modied for dierent pur-
poses. The radial canal ends in a small water-lled ten-
tacle which protrudes through the uppermost plate of the
ambulacral region.[3]:972973
[1] Solomon, Eldra; Linda Berg; Diana Martin (2002). Biol-
ogy. Brooks/Cole.
[2] Dale, Jonathan (2000). Starsh Science.
[3] Barnes, Robert D. (1982). Invertebrate Zoology. Philadel-
phia, PA: Holt-Saunders International. ISBN 0-03-
056747-5.
[4] Gilbertson, Lance (1999). Zoology Lab Manual (fourth
ed.). McGraw Hill Companies, New York. ISBN 0-07-
237716-X.

4 Crinoids

Uniquely among echinoderms, crinoids have no

madreporite. Instead, the oral surface is dotted within
numerous minute ciliated funnels that run into the main
body cavity. The ring canal has several small stone
canals, located between the arms of the animal, but these
open into the body cavity, and thus are only indirectly
connected to the outside.[3]:1004
The ve radial canals run into the arms and branch sev-
eral times to supply all of the individual branches and pin-
nules lining the arms. As in other echinoderms, the radial
canals give rise to lateral canals, but there are no ampul-
lae, and clusters of three tube feet branch from the ends
of each canal, except around the mouth, where they are
found singly. In the absence of ampullae, water pressure
is maintained by the ring canal, which is surrounded by
contractile muscle bres.[3]:1004

5 Sea cucumbers

The water vascular system of sea cucumbers has no con-

nection to the outside, and is thus lled with the internal
coelomic uid, rather than sea water. The madreporite
is present, but lies within the body cavity, just below the
pharynx. The stone canal is relatively short.[3]:991992
The ring canal normally has one to four polian vesicles,
but in the order Apodida, there may be as many as fty.
The radial canals run through notches in the calcare-
ous plates surrounding the mouth and then run along the
ambulacral areas along the length of the body. Lateral
canals run to both the tube feet and the large oral tenta-
cles, all of which possess ampullae. The Apodida, which
have no tube feet, also have no radial canals, with the
canals to the tentacles branching o directly from the ring
canal.[3] 991992
 3

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