The gastrointestinal tracts of adult and juvenile Dover sole, Solea solea (L.)$ were examined using scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). SEM showed little differentiation of the internal morphology of the gastrointestinal tract in adult fish, with longitudinally arranged mucosal folds present in all gut regions. Mucosal folds had a similar arrangement to that in the goldfish. Goblet cells were identified in the mucosal epithelium in all regions of the gut while microscopic ductsipores of possible pancreatic origin were observed in the foregut region. SEM ofjuvenile gut samples showed a similar arrangement of longitudinal mucosal folds to that found in the adult fish. There was no visible evidence of goblet cells or secretory ducts/pores in any region of the juvenile gastrointestinal tract.In TEM it was observed that apical microvilli were a feature ofepithelial cells from all regions of the gastrointestinal tract in adult and juvenile Dover sole. Cells from the distal regions of the adult and juvenile gut showed invaginations and vacuolation of the apical cytoplasm. A high degree of vacuolation in cells from the juvenile hindgut-rectum indicated the possible occurrence of intracellular digestion of absorbed nutrients in this gut region.
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