Physiological studies on Oncomelania nosophora, the vector snail of Schistosoma japonicum. I. On the oxygen uptake and effect of starvation upon it.

From the theoretical standpoint studies on physiology of the vactor snail harbouring juveniles of trematodes may yield some clues to the development of its chemical and ecological control. Our present knowledge about the respiratory metabolism of Oncomelania nosophora, the snail intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum, is too scant to outline its respiratory pattern while the large amount of work was reported on these of Australorbis glabratus that served as an intermediate host of S. mansoni (von Brand et al., 1948; Mehlman et al., 1951; Weinbach, 1933; Newton et al., 1955; Weinbach et al., 1956). To lay a foundation towards such an approach, some respiratory aspects, oxygen consumption in air and water, effect of starvation on oxygen uptake and effect of tricarboxylic acids upon the endogenous respiration of O. nosophora were studied.