Toxic metal ions are an important stress factor for a living organism. In this study, accumulation and histopathological changes in foot, mantle and hepatopancreas of great pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis exposed to different Cadmium (Cd) concentrations in laboratory conditions were investigated. Great pond snails were exposed to sublethal concentrations of 7.92 μg/L, 15.85 μg/L, 31.7 μg/L and 63.4 μg/L Cd. At the end of 7, 14, 21 and 28 days, snail foot, mantle and hepatopancreas were removed to investigate and determine Cd accumulation and histopathological alterations by light microscopy. Cd levels determined in hepatopancreas were higher than those measured from the foot and the mantle of studied specimens. A positive correlation was found between Cd levels in tissues and exposure days. As a result of Cd application, we observed increase in the number of mucosit, pigment and protein cells and desquamation in the epithelium in the foot, atrophy in muscle fibrils, connective tissue cells and increase in the lipid vacuoles in the mantle, increase in the lipid vacuoles and amoebocyte in the hepatopancreas. The severity of the alterations resulting from Cd increased with dose-time dependent.
Keywords: Cadmium; Gastropoda; Histopathology; Lymnaea stagnalis.
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