hemolymph

Examples of hemolymph in the following topics:

• Open and Closed Circulatory Systems

  • The blood is called hemolymph because it mixes with the interstitial fluid.
  • As the heart beats and the animal moves, the hemolymph circulates around the organs within the body cavity, reentering the heart through openings called ostia (singular: ostium).
  • (b) In open circulatory systems, a fluid called hemolymph is pumped through a blood vessel that empties into the body cavity.
  • Hemolymph returns to the blood vessel through openings called ostia.

• Malpighian Tubules of Insects

  • The system of malpighian tubules consists of branching tubules, which increase their surface area, near the hemolymph (a mixture of blood and interstitial fluid that is found in insects, other arthropods, and most mollusks) and fat tissues.
  • Instead, urine is produced by tubular secretion mechanisms by the cells lining the malpighian tubules that are bathed in hemolymph.
  • Malpighian tubules of insects and other terrestrial arthropods remove nitrogenous wastes and other solutes from the hemolymph.

• Red Blood Cells

  • Invertebrates that utilize hemolymph rather than blood use different pigments containing copper or iron to bind to the oxygen.
  • Unlike hemoglobin, hemolymph is not carried in blood cells, but floats free in the hemolymph.
  • Copper, instead of iron, binds the oxygen, giving the hemolymph a blue-green color.