Morphological characterization of the skin of juvenile turbot (Psetta maxima L.).

COSCELLI, G.; SANCHO, A.R.; LOSADA, A.P.; VIGLIANO, F.A.; BERMÚDEZ, R.; QUIROGA, M.I.

Rosario, Argentina

Congreso; I Congreso Argentino de Ciencias Morfológicas Veterinarias; 2009

Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional de Rosario.

Turbot (Psetta maxima) is a teleost fish characterized by the lack of scales; but it has protuberances called "bony tubercles". The tegument or skin of fish is the external protective barrier that separates the animal from the aquatic environment. Due to the great diversity in the composition of the skin of fish, our goal is to understand the organization and distribution of the several components of the skin by histological and immunohistochemical techniques, in order to get a better knowledge of skin diseases. Sections of 3 lm thick of turbot normal skin were stained with HE, PAS/Alcian blue, alizarin red, toluidine blue, Gallego´s trichrome and immunohistochemical techniques using antibodies anti-actin, -cytokeratin, -vimentin and -turbot IgM. The skin of turbot showed three layers: epidermis, dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis was composed of a stratified squamous non-keratinizing epithelium with goblet cells. The dermis consisted of a stratum spongiosum, with loose connective tissue, and a stratum compactum, composed of dense connective tissue. One element in the dermis must be highlighted, the tubercles -conical structures formed by dense connective tissue.