MORPHOLOGY 



77 



Parabasal apparatus 



In the cytoplasm of many parasitic flagellates, there is frequently 

 present a conspicuous structure known as the parabasal apparatus 

 (Janicki, 1911), consisting of the parabasal body and often thread 

 (Cleveland), which latter may be absent in some cases. This struc- 

 ture varies greatly among different genera and species in appearance, 

 structure and position within the body. It is usually connected with 



Fig. 24. Parabasal apparatus in: a, Lophomonas blattarujn (Kudo); 

 b, Metadevescovina debilis; c, Devescovina sp. (Kirby). af, axostylar fila- 

 ments; bl, blepharoplasts; f, food particles; fl, flagella; n, nucleus; pa, 

 parabasal apparatus. 



the blepharoplast and located very close to the nucleus, though 

 not directly connected with it. It may be single, double, or multiple, 

 and may be pyriform, straight or curved rod-like, bandform, spirally 

 coiled or collar-like (Fig. 24). Kofoid and Swezy considered that the 

 parabasal body is derived from the nuclear chromatin, varies in 

 size according to the metabolic demands of the organism, and is a 

 "kinetic reservoir." On the other hand, Duboscq and Grasse" (1933) 

 maintain that this body is the Golgi apparatus, since (1) acetic acid 

 destroys both the parabasal body and the Golgi apparatus ; (2) both 

 are demonstrable with the same technique; (3) the parabasal body 



