Histology of the Digestive Tract of Anablepsoides urophthalmus from Brazilian Oriental Amazonia

Abstract

This study investigated the anatomy and histology of the digestive tract of the fish Anablepsoides urophthalmus of the family of Rivulidae, captured from the flood plains of northern Brazil. Histology of the digestive tract of this species was investigated, since there is a scarcity of information regarding its digestive biology. This work describes the histological characterization of the digestive tract of A. urophthalmus and correlates the histology of each component with its respective function. This species has only esophagus and intestine and it was possible to identify these components through histological analysis of the mucosa, submucosa, muscular and serous layers. The esophagus is short, with stratified epithelium, cubic with mucous cells and with a muscle layer with two sub-layers of striated muscle fibers. The intestine is coated with simple cylindrical columnar epithelium with microvilli goblet cells. It is divided into anterior, middle and posterior portions, without any folding or glands. The differentiation of regions of the intestine occurs at the level of the intestinal mucosa at the villus and variations of goblet cells.