Histology of digestive tract and liver in goldfish (Carassius auratus)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Animal Biology, School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

10.22059/jfisheries.2024.378706.1434

Abstract

The fish digestive system consists of the digestive tract and accessory glands that regulate food intake and digestion and absorption of nutrients. The aim of the present study was to investigate histological features of digestive tract and liver in goldfish (Carassius auratus). A linear regression model showed a positive relationship between digestive mass and body mass (r= 0.620, n= 16, P=0.006). The digestive tract, from outer to inner, consists of serosa, muscular, submucosal, and mucosal layers. The epithelium of the mucosal folds contained enterocytes and goblet cells in both intestine and rectum. The enterocytes were shorter in length at the apices of the mucosal folds, which were free of goblet cells. Morphometric analysis of histological indices showed longer mucosal folds in the rectum than in intestine portions (P<0.001). In the intestine, the length of mucosa folds in the middle segment was shorter than those of anterior and posterior segments (P<0.001). The basal width of mucosal folds and the distance between two subsequent folds were significantly increased from the anterior to the posterior segments of the intestine, and then decreased in the rectum (P<0.001). The thickness of the muscular layer in the anterior and posterior segments of the intestine was higher than the middle segment (P<0.001), and it was greater in the rectum compared to the intestinal segments (P<0.001). The liver consists of hepatocytes arranged in a diffuse or radial organization, with bile ducts, sinusoids, and veins in the liver parenchyma. This study, for the first time, reveals the morphological features of mucosal folds along the digestive tract in goldfish, suggesting that histological adaptation with spatial function optimizes food digestion and nutrient absorption.

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Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Fisheries
Volume 77, Issue 4
December 2024
Pages 313-323

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