Studies on the comparative histology of the digestive tube of certain teleost fishes. I. A predaceous fish, the sea bass (Centropristes striatus)

Abstract

The first of a series of studies on the comparative histology of the digestive tubes of fishes selected, on the basis of their feeding habits, from the teleost group: a study of the microscopic anatomy of the digestive tube of a predaceous teleost, the sea bass (Centropristes striatus (L.)). Based on studies of sections, with details of gross anatomy from both fresh and preserved material. Includes a short survey of previous work. Deals with the histology of the various regions of the tract, their tunics and tissues, together with details of cell structure and arrangement. Approach is made from the physiological side, with particular reference to the adaptation of histological elements to functional activity. Parts treated in detail are esophagus, cardiac and pyloric limbs of the stomach, intestine, and pyloric caeca. Particular stress is laid on the histological structure and arrangement of the tunica mucosa, especially in relation to digestion and absorption. Topics given particular emphasis are: condition of mucosal folds with reference to the amount of food present in the lumen; transformation between adjacent epithelia of different types; structure of cardiac and pyloric glands; origin and differentiation of intestinal goblet cells; comparisons between histology of pyloric caeca and that of adjacent intestine, together with general conditions found in the caecal mucosa.