Five adult cage-reared gilthead sea bream Sparus aurata specimens were sampled to study the histological and biochemical features of its digestive system. Staining using Hematoxylin-eosin, Alcian blue and Orcein were used to elucidate the histological and biochemical features of the digestive organs in cage-reared gilthead sea bream. The digestive system is a hollow tube made of esophagus, stomach and intestines. The esophagus consists of four layers: mucosa, sub-mucosa, muscular layer and the outer layer. The esophageal epithelium contains abundant goblet cells with alkaline or neutral mucopolysaccharides (MPS) inside them. The wall of the fundic and pyloric region of the stomach is also four-layered and goblet cells of the stomach mucosa contain acid MPS. Four pyloric caeca were found between stomach and the intestines. According to its morphology the intestines of gilthead sea bream could be distinguished in three parts: anterior, middle and posterior intestines. In spite the difference in their diameter all three parts of the intestines has shown certain similarity regarding histological features. Goblet cells containing acid MPS were found in all three parts of the intestines although they are more numerous in the upper intestines. The liver in gilthead sea bream consists of two lobes. The structure of the hepatocytes is damaged due to large amounts of fat inside the cells. Pancreatic tissue is scattered down the length of the intestines as well as throughout the liver parenchyma. It contains zymogene cells arranged in serous acing. It can be concluded that the histological and biochemical of the digestive system in cage-reared gilthead sea bream is mostly like in other carnivorous fishes and congruent to its feeding habits.
The histological structure and histochemical characteristics of the digestive tract of five specimens of salema porgy (Sarpa salpa, L.) were analysed using haematoxylin-eosin, Alcian blue/PAS and orcein-Giemsa staining techniques. The digestive system of salema porgy consists of esophagus, stomach and intestines with associated organs such as liver, pancreas and gallbladder. The wall of esophagus, stomach, intestines and gallbladder has four distinctive layers: the mucosa, the submucosa, the muscular and outer layer, serosa or adventitia. The mucosa consists of two different layers: epithelium and lamina propria. Mucosa of the upper part of the digestive system is layered by single squamous epithelium, while those of lower part of the digestive system is layered by single columnar epithelium. The submucosa is a layer made of connective tissue and blood vessels. In most parts of the digestive system the muscular layer consists of two parts: circular and longitudinal.
The exception is the muscular layer of the stomach fundus which has three layers: inner, medium and outer. The outermost layer in the esophagus is adventitia made of connective tissue, blood vessels and nerves. In the stomach, intestines and the gallbladder this layer is replaced by serosa. Histochemical analysis has shown that mucosal cells in all parts of the digestive tube contain acid mucopolysaccharides (MPS). The liver consists of hepatocytes separated by sinusoidal capillaries.
The pancreatic tissue is scattered along the liver parenchyma and along the wall of pyloric caeca. The present study is the first record on digestive system histology of salema porgy showing that it is congruent to its feeding habits.
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