THE SKIN AND MUCOUS SECRETION OF THE EUROPEAN EEL, Anguilla anguilla. L . ...

• Main Author: ARCHER, GLENN C.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: University of Plymouth 1979
• Subjects: Anguilla anguilla
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.24382/3359; https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/handle/10026.1/2380

The epidermis of the eel A. Anguilla L. secretes a mucous layer mainly from its mucous cells although there may also be a contribution from surface epidermal cells . Under certain conditions, the epidermal cells may transform to a secretory cell type that resembles, but is structurally distinct from a mucous cell . This observation has not previously been reported in fish epidermis. Specialised club cells, characteristic of the Anguillidae contain filamentous material that may be secreted beneath the epidermal surface. This previously unobserved phenomenon together with an increase in cell numbers around the lateral region may suggest an additional protective mechanism which may be of use, for example, during 'burrowing'. The quantitative distribution of mucous cells over the body was also determined and the cellular contents of the main cell types characterised histochemically. Lymphocytes and previously unseen granular neutrophil-like cells may function in more specific protective mechanisms against ...