Histological sections illustrating the most severe pathological conditions
affecting cockles in Galicia:
1. Infection with Marteilia cochillia
Left: histological section through the digestive gland of a healthy cockle.
Right: histological section through the digestive gland of a cockle infected with Marteilia cochillia;
multiple parasites (arrows) appear colonising the epithelium of the digestive tubules.
2. Disseminated neoplasia
Left: histological section through the gills of a healthy cockle.
Right: histological section through the gills of a cockle affected by disseminated neoplasia, showing
the connective tissue and the lumen of the branchial vessels heavily invaded by neoplastic cells.
3. Granulomatosis
Histological section through the gills of a cockle showing large granulomas (stars)
consisting of mases of haemocytes and cell surrounded by connective fibres and flattened cells.
4. Infection with a haplosporidan-like parasite
Histological section through the digestive gland of a cockle showing uninucleate (arrow)
and binucleate cells (double arrows) accumulated in the connective tissue.
5. Infestation with Bucephalus minimus
Histological section through the gonadal area of a cockle showing multiple sporocysts
of this digenean trematode invading the connective tissue of the host.
