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The structure of fish skin

I. General organization

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Summary

Both the epidermis and dermis of the anadromous coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, have a full complement of the protective structures found in fish. The living epidermal surface is protected by mucous secretions which are prevented from ablation by the intricately patterned microridges of the surface keratinocytes, as seen by scanning electron microscopy. Bundles of filaments are dispersed throughout the keratinocytes but not to the extent that ribosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi apparatus are excluded. In the yearling salmon, the straight basal lamina of the embryo has changed to a convoluted border invaded by dermal reticular fibers. The complex dermis has an upper region of loosely organized collagen fibers, which is interspersed with fibroblasts and pigment cells, and a deeper, highly ordered zone of orthogonally arranged collagen. Coho salmon also have overlapping calcified scales that extend at an angle from the upper dermis to the epidermis and push an enclosing sheath of epidermal tissue with them to the skin's surface. The other major component of fish skin, the chromatophores, are discussed in an adjacent paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cutaneous Biology and Electron Microscopy, Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, Beaverton, Oregon, USA

    Joyce W. Hawkes

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  1. Joyce W. Hawkes
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Additional information

Publication No. 712 from the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center. Supported by postdoctoral training fellowship 5-T01-AM05512-08 from the National Institutes of Health.

The author wishes to thank Drs. N. J. Alexander and W. H. Fahrenbach for many helpful discussions and for critically reading the manuscript.

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Hawkes, J.W. The structure of fish skin. Cell Tissue Res. 149, 147–158 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00222270

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00222270

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