The Basiepithelial Nerve Plexus of the Viscera and Coelom of Eleutherozoan Echinodermata

The organisation of the basiepithelial nerve plexus in the alimentary canal of a starfish and the water vascular system of a sea-urchin is described. The plexus contains varicose aminergic neurones which terminate adjacent to the ciliated epithelial cells. It is proposed that the basiepithelial plexus innervates these cells and controls ciliary beating. The distribution of the basiepithelial plexus in various tissues described by other workers is discussed particularly in relation to whether it is the coelomic epithelium or the luminal epithelium which is innervated. It is concluded that where there is both an endothelium and a coelomic epithelium only one is innervated. The muscles, where present, of the viscera are innervated by a separate nervous system. The muscles are always on the opposite side of the non-cellular connective tissue sheath to the basiepithelial plexus.