Abstract
The liver is an essential metabolically active organ, responsible for many vital life functions such as metabolism, synthesis, and storage. This study describes the macroscopic and microscopic zebrafish liver and its temporal changes during a period of 13 weeks. Forty-six adult zebrafish were used (46), of which 27 were females and were 19 males. Seven fish were euthanized initially for macroscopic evaluation and 3 fish were euthanized weekly for 13 weeks for microscopic evaluation. Routine histological technique was performed; the slides were stained with haematoxylin/eosin and periodic acid-Schiff. The volumetric (Vv(h)) and numerical (Nv(h)) densities of hepatocytes and vacuolation intensity were determined weekly. The liver was located in the coelomic cavity ventrally to the swim bladder, slightly brownish and divided into 3 hepatic lobes. Microscopically, it consisted of hepatocytes forming a muralium duplex around the sinusoids. The staining of the cytoplasm of hepatocytes was more eosinophilic and more basophilic in males and females, respectively. There was no formation of portal triads and phagocytic cells. The gallbladder had transitional epithelium, and the bile ducts had simple cuboidal epithelium. The volume and numerical density of hepatocytes during the 13 weeks was not statistically different, but these parameters displayed a positive correlation. The vacuolation was due to the presence of glycogen. The zebrafish liver has macro and micro structural particular features while, quantitatively, the volume and number of hepatocytes showed great capacity to respond to the physiological needs of the animal at the time.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.