Canadian Medical Guide > Organisms > Animals > Invertebrates > Mollusca Terms and Definitions

Mollusca

Medical Definition:	A phylum of the kingdom Metazoa. Mollusca have soft, unsegmented bodies with an anterior head, a dorsal visceral mass, and a ventral foot. Most are encased in a protective calcareous shell. It includes the classes Gastropoda, Bivalvia, Cephalopoda, Aplacophora, Scaphopoda, Polyplacophora, and Monoplacophora.
Guide Notes:	as animal & food; IM; GEN or unspecified; prefer specifics; as food, coord IM with SHELLFISH (IM)
Also Called:	Cuttlefish

Mollusca Categories.

	Aplysia - An opisthobranch mollusk of the order Anaspidea. It is used frequently in studies of nervous system development because of its large identifiable neurons. Aplysiatoxin and its derivatives are not biosynthesized by Aplysia, but acquired by ingestion of Lyngbya (seaweed) species.
	Clams - Equivalved edible marine mollusks that live wholly or partially in sand or mud. Some genera are Mya, Venus, and Mactra.
	Mussels - Marine bivalve mollusks especially of the genus Mytilus or freshwater bivalve mollusks, especially the genera Unio and Anodonta. The edible mussel is Mytilus edulis.
	Octopus - An eight-armed cephalopod mollusk belonging to the order Octopoda. It includes the octopus as food.
	Oysters - Marine bivalve mollusks of several genera (Ostrea, Crassostrea, Pinctada, Meleagrina) with a rough irregular shell closed by a single adductor muscle. It includes oysters as food.
	Snails - Marine, freshwater, or terrestrial mollusks of the class Gastropoda. Most have an enclosing spiral shell, and several genera harbor parasites pathogenic to man.
	Squid - A ten-armed cephalopod mollusk of the order Decapoda. It includes the squid as food.

Mollusca Medical Definitions and Terms

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