Morphology and Histochemistry of the Liver of Carnivorous Fish Hemisorubim platyrhynchos

Abstract

SUMMARY:The aim of this study was to characterize the normal structure of the liver of Hemisorubim platyrhynchos, a carnivorous freshwater catfish found in Neotropical region, using gross anatomy, histology and histochemistry. Anatomically, the liver presents C-shaped and only two lobes: smaller right and bigger left. The gallbladder is located in right lobe and shows elongated shaped. Histological analysis demonstrated that the hepatic parenchyma is made of two hepatocytes plates surrounded by sinusoids. The hepatocytes are polygonal-shaped cells, with spherical nucleus and a dark prominent nucleolus. The cytoplasm presents large amount of lipids and glycogen deposits PAS positives. There are no hepatic lobules or portal triads. Bile ducts are lined by columnar epithelial cells with apical mucosubstances PAS and AB positive. Furthermore, the liver presents melano-macrophages centers, distributed next to the blood vessels and bile ducts, constituted by cells accumulating pigments, whose presence may be related to the nutritional status of the fish. Moreover pancreatic tissue was observed in visceral portion of liver, formed by exocrine pancreatic tissue and islet organ, constituting an extrahepatic pancreas.

Comparative histology in the liver and spleen of three species of freshwater teleost

“…These findings are similar to other teleosts (Akiyoshi, Inoue, 2004;Bombonato et al, 2007). The bile ducts observed in the three species had a simple cubic epithelium, which becomes columnar in large ducts similar to other teleosts (Vicentini et al, 2005;Faccioli et al, 2014). Only G. brasiliensis has an intrahepatic exocrine pancreas that was arranged in clusters of columnar cells, which were organized in acini.…”

“…In the present study, three species had absence of division into hepatic lobules and the lack of portal triads as also recorded in many teleosts (Vicentini et al, 2005;Nejedli, Gajger, 2013;Pronina et al, 2014;Faccioli et al, 2014). The network of blood capillaries showed vessels that were anastomosed and drained by centre-lobular veins.…”

“…During ontogenesis, the exocrine pancreatic tissue is formed around of the portal vein and penetrates deep and diffusely into the hepatic parenchyma (Vicentini et al, 2005). Exocrine pancreatic tissue has been recorded in other teleosts and its proportion depends on the species (Nejedli, Gajger, 2013;Faccioli et al, 2014). The exocrine pancreatic tissue is responsible for producing digestive enzymes that act in the intestine and aiding in food digestion (González et al, 1993).…”

“…Teleosts do not have a defined hepatic lobe number and shape (Faccioli et al, 2014). Thus, it adapts to the size and shape of this cavity and the space used by other visceral organs.…”

Histopathological analysis of liver of the catfish <i>Pimelodus maculatus</i> in a tropical eutrophic reservoir from Southeastern Brazil

“…Among the species that have been studied in this subject, we can highlight the histology of the liver of the channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque, 1818), the tigerfish Hydrocynus forskahlii (Cuvier, 1819), the trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792), the goldfish Carassius auratus (Linnaeus 1758) and the Siberian sturgeon Acipenser baerii (Brandt, 1869) (Ostaszewska et al, 2016). However, information on liver tissues in tropical freshwater systems are scarce (e.g., Bombonato, Rochel, Vicentini, & Vicentini, 2007;Faccioli, Chedid, Bombonato, Vicentini, & Vicentini, 2014;Marcon, Bazzoli, Mounteer, & Benjamin, 2015). As most of Brazilian freshwater systems are undergoing increasing pollution, especially eutrophication, there is a need for studies on this subject on eutrophic systems.…”