Spatial arrangement of fish gill secondary lamellar cells in intact and dissociated tissues from rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss) and Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar)

• Published in: Journal of Fish Biology
• Main Authors: Pentuce, W. S., Eddy, F. B.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1993
• Subjects: Pillar; Atlantic salmon; Salmo salar
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1993.tb00394.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1095-8649.1993.tb00394.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1993.tb00394.x

Gill structure of rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon was investigated using cell disaggregation and dry fracture techniques for scanning electron microscopy (SEM), allowing new interpreta‐tions of the structure of the secondary lamella. The basement membrane underlying the lamellar epithelium (secondary epithelium) was shown to be a tough sheet with numerous depressions corresponding to underlying pillar cells. This membrane is probably the most important structural element of the secondary lamella, capable of withstanding considerable mechanical stress. For the first time the structure of the apical surface of the secondary lamella was shown by SEM to consist of an outer microridged coat overlying a fibrous coat which appears continuous with the extracellular matrix surrounding the rest of the cell. When cells were detached they rounded up and the external microridged coat became more vesicle like, indicating the labile nature of this coat. In cell suspension preparations, epithelial, mucus and chloride cells are present as well as many blood derived cells such as erythrocytes, presumptive leucocytes and thrombocytes.