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The performance of the octopus circulatory system: A triumph of engineering over design

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Summary

Despite the very considerable difficulties presented by the basic molluscan anatomy and the possession of a blood pigment with an oxygen carrying capacity that never exceeds 4.5 vols%, the cephalopod circulatory system contrives to deliver oxygen at a rate fully comparable with that of an active fish. This is achieved by adding accessory pumps to push blood through the gills, by a multiplicity of pulsatile veins and by raising the systemic blood pressure considerably above the levels found in other molluscs. Detailed control of blood distribution is a necessity in a system where the peripheral resistences may be expected to change dramatically when the animal starts to move and large parts of the central nervous system are apparently dedicated to this task. In this account we have reviewed blood pressure and flow at rest and in exercise. We have further examined the evidence which indicates how the animals modulate the cardiac output, drawing attention to the very different response found in cephalopods and the higher vertebrates.

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  1. Department of Zoology, Downing St., Cambridge, England

    M. J. Wells & P. J. S. Smith

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Wells, M.J., Smith, P.J.S. The performance of the octopus circulatory system: A triumph of engineering over design. Experientia 43, 487–499 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02143577

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