Liver of the brown trout, Salmo trutta (Teleostei, Salmonidae): A stereological study at light and electron microscopic levels

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 1997

Authors

rocha, e (Author) ICBAS; monteiro, raf (Author) Other; pereira, ca (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Anatomical Record

Vol. 247

Pages: 317-328

ISSN: 0003-276X

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 35 Citations

Scopus - 48 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Medical and Health sciences > Basic medicine

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-001-BTH

DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0185(199703)247:3<317::aid-ar3>3.0.co;2-r

Abstract (EN): Background: A quantitative study was undertaken for the first time on the norm Methods: Liver was fixed by controlled perfusion. Organ-level morphometry provided weight and volume. A two-stage stereological approach was performed at light and electron microscopy levels. Systematic sampling and point-counting morphometry were used for estimating the relative volumes of the structural compartments. Total absolute volumes of these components were obtained by multiplying each volume density by the volume of its reference space. Results: Liver volume was 3,423.6 mm(3) for males and 3,657.4 mm(3) for females. Parenchyma accounted for 95% of hepatic volume. Veins and bile ducts occupied, respectively, 76% and 17% of the stroma, whereas arteries, connective tissue, and melanomacrophages together composed only 6%. Hepatocytes occupied 88% of the parenchyma. Nonhepatocytic cells (endothelium, biliary epithelial cells, Ito cells, and macrophages) composed 4% of the parenchyma, the capillary lumen 6%, and other spaces (Disse space, canaliculi, and lumina of preductules and ductules) composed 2%. Significant sexual differences were found: (1) Females showed a greater parenchymal volume density (0.85% vs. 0.35%) and absolute volume (29.5 mm(2) vs. 11.7 mm(3)) of Ito cells; (2) macrophages of females also presented a greater parenchymal volume density (0.94% vs. 0.46%), but not absolute volume. Conclusions: The need to analyze both relative and absolute stereological data was stressed. Similarities and differences were detected between brown trout and other species (fishes and mammals); the findings suggest that, despite architectural differences, some quantitative parameters of liver microanatomy were retained during phylogeny. Factors mediating sexual differences in Ito cells and macrophages were discussed and the need for further studies was highlighted. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 12