GENERAL HISTOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -In phylum Mollusca, the animals have a soft, unsegmented body, with a hard, calcareous shell to protect the soft body. They have a muscular foot to help locomotion and act as a weapon in some cases. Example: Snail, slug, oyster, mussel, clam, squid and octopus.

Detailed explanation-2: -Mollusks all have unsegmented soft bodies with a “head” and a “foot” region (they may not look like a head or foot!). Often their bodies are covered by a hard exoskeleton, as in the shells of snails and clams or the plates of chitons. Many have shells, either calcareous, or made of proteins and chitin.

Detailed explanation-3: -Molluscs have a mantle or mass of soft flesh that covers the soft body and encloses the internal organs. In many species, the mantle produces a hard shell. Not all molluscs produce a shell. Many molluscs have a radula, which, in most species, is a rasp-like scraping organ used in feeding (Fig.

Detailed explanation-4: -mollusk, also spelled mollusc, any soft-bodied invertebrate of the phylum Mollusca, usually wholly or partly enclosed in a calcium carbonate shell secreted by a soft mantle covering the body.

Detailed explanation-5: -Molluscs, one of the largest groups in the animal kingdom, have soft bodies and generally have a hard shell for protection – so they are often called “shellfish”. Most molluscs are found in the ocean, but many can be found in freshwater and on land. Worldwide there are about 100, 000 species of marine molluscs.