Structural and vascular changes accompanying the resorption of the proctodaeal processes after birth in the embryos of the Goodeidae, a family of viviparous fishes

Abstract

AbstractThe types of processes encountered in the various species investigated are described. There is included the topography and structure before birth of the gonads, mesonephric ducts, urinary sinus and gut. Following birth, there are but slight changes in the topography of these organs. The most important structural change involves a complete ectodermal reconstitution of the end of the gut to form a true rectum. The vascular supply to the processes in the different species is similar and varies only in the minute details. The arterial supply is furnished by an extension of a single mesenteric artery along the gut. The number of arteries and their position at the gut opening depends on the number and position of the processes at that point. Two venous channels drain the processes; one is somatic and drains into the caudal vein, the other is visceral and empties into the hepatic portal through the subintestinal vein. The former drains the posterior process, the latter, the anterior processes. This basic pattern is constant in all species investigated. A description of the rich capillary plexus on the surface of the processes is included. With the resorption of the processes after birth, vessels that supply them become variously modified. The vein to the anterior processes and the single artery are discontinued. The vein that drains the posterior processes either disappears or is retained in part, undergoing secondary connections.