The primary action of lithium chloride on morphogenesis in Lymnaea stagnalis
In Lymnaea stagnalis, as in sea urchins, lithium ions cause disturbances of development, notably exogastrulation and head malformations (Raven, 1942). As the effect of a Li-treatment presents itself only after several hours or days of development, the question was raised of the site and the nature of the primary action of the ion in the egg cells, even though it had never been proved that Li actually enters the cells. The Li effect was described as a coarsening of cytoplasmic structure (Runnström, 1928), a condensation of the cytoplasm, caused by dehydration of certain of its colloidal components (Raven & Roborgh, 1949; Raven & van Zeist, 1950), and as an electrostatic effect on phosphatides located in the cortical layer of the egg (Raven, 1956). The controversy between these hypotheses was the original incentive to study this problem by electron microscopy.