The document discusses the excretory structures in fish, detailing the process of excretion and osmoregulation, primarily through the kidneys and gills. It outlines the structure and function of kidneys, describing different types found in various fish species, along with other excretory organs such as the gill surface, skin, liver, intestine, and rectal gland. The conclusion emphasizes the role of these organs in maintaining internal homeostasis and the specific functions they perform based on the fish's environment.
INTRODUCTION
• Excretion isthe removal of metabolic waste into the surrounding water.
• The excretory process in fish can very tremendously with respect to the volume
and chemical composition of the excretory fluid produced.
• The physiology of excretion and osmoregulation are closely associated and
excretion is a mechanism of regulation for both the processes.
• Compared with land vertebrates, fishes have a special problem in maintaining
their internal environment at a constant concentration of water and dissolved
substances, proper balance of the internal environment of a fish is maintained by
excretory system, especially the kidney.
• Excretion involves the separation and elimination of metabolic waste produced
from the body. Various organs are involved in this process.
1. KIDNEY
• Organthrough which most of the
metabolic waste are excreted.
• Kidneys are paired, elongated
structures, placed above the
alimentary canal and close to
vertebral column.
• Reddish brown in colour.
• Kidneys lie on either side of the
posterior cardinal veins. Overlain by
peritoneum, gut and reproductive
organs.
• The kidney tissue is dark and loose,
and is not clearly encapsulated.
5.
• The kidneyshows multiple shapes in different fishes due to fusion at various
positions.
• Made up of many individual units called nephrons.
• Each nephron contains a renal corpuscle/ malpighian body &renal ducts with
various terminal modifications.
Teleostean kidney is divided into two parts; head kidney and trunk kidney
1. Head kidney: endocrine in nature
• It consists of lymphoid, hematopoietic tissue( help in haematopoiesis) and few
nephrons/ no nephrons and collecting duct.
• No excretory function
• Inter-renal gland, chromaffin tissue, and corpuscles of stannius are present.
2. Trunk kidney: consists of large number of nephrons.
• Excretory in function
6.
• Kidney ofmarine teleost can be divided into
five types by Ogawa in 1961.
Type 1: two kidneys are completely jointed along
their entire length without any clear distinction
between head and trunk kidney.
Eg: herrings
Type 2: anterior portion of the kidney are free but
the middle & posterior portions are fused.
head and trunk kidneys are clearly
distinguishable.
Eg: marine catfishes, eel Type 1 Type 2
Trunk
kidney
Head
kidney
7.
Type 3: anteriorand middle portions of the
kidneys are free but the posterior parts are
fused.
• Anterior portions has two thin branches.
• Head and trunk kidneys are clearly
distinguishable and separate.
eg: mullets, billfish
Type 4: only the extreme posterior parts of
the kidneys are fused.
Head and trunk regions cannot be
distinguishable.
Eg: sea horses, pipefishes
Type 5: two kidneys are completely separate.
Eg: angler fish
Head
kidney
Trunk
kidney
Type 3
Type 4 Type 5
8.
• In freshwaterteleost type 1, 2, and 3 kidneys are seen,
• Type 1: salmon & trout
• Type 2: carps & minows
• Type 3: killifish & stickleback
9.
• Based onthe presence & absence of
glomeruli, two type of kidney;
• Glomerulus : network of capillaries
contained within bowman’s capsule.
a) Glomerular kidney: possess glomeruli.
b) Aglomerular kidney: lack glomeruli. Eg:
angler fish , pipe fish, sea house
• Tubules join to a collecting duct called
archnephric duct/ ureter located
posterior to cloaca.
• Distal tubules also absent
• Basic structure consist of a proximal
portion and a collecting duct system.
10.
In ancestral vertebrates,kidney possess one
nephron for each body segment. The nephron
drained into a duct called wolffian/ archinephric
duct.
• This type of kidney is known as Holonephros
because kidney extends to the entire length of
the body.
Eg: larvae of the cyclostomes, but not in
any adult
Ophisthonephros: the most anterior tubules
have been lost, some middle tubules have been
associated with testes and multiplication of
tubules posteriorly.
11.
Pronephros: the tubulesof the anterior region
become functional in early life
The fish kidney has pronephric head region
(non functional in terms of excretion) &
mesonephric trunk region (functional middle
region).
Mesonephros : main excretory organ
• The anterior tubules are reduced and
converted into lymphoid organ ,the
posterior tubules have excretory function.
• It consist of mesonephric duct,
mesonephric tubules and capillary tufts.
12.
Nephron
Afferent arteriole
Efferent arteriole
Glomerulus
(fenestratedcapillary
bed)
Basement
membrane
Proximal
segment
filtrate neck
• Consist of two parts bowman’s
capsule and renal tubule.
• Begins as a double walled blind
cup called Bowman’s capsule.
• Bowman’s capsule encapsulate
glomerulus (a cluster of small
blood vessels).
• A long, thin tubule is attached to
each bowman’s capsule – dialysis
unit.
13.
• Bowman’s capsuleis lined by visceral
(inner) & parietal (outer) layers of epithelial
cells.
• Inner visceral layer lie just below the
thickened glomerular basement
membrane. which is made up of
podocytes ,which sent foot processes over
the length of glomerulus.
• Foot processes cross each other to form a
filtration slit (passage of large molecules &
cells restricted by filtration slit).
• Foot processes have a negatively charged
coat called glycocalyx (helps to limit the
filtration of negatively charged molecules).
• The size of glomeruli varies in different
groups of fishes.
14.
• The renalartery supplies blood to the glomerulus. Renal
artery arising from distal aorta.
• Renal portal system supplies blood to the tubules.
• To reach each nephron renal artery branches repeatedly
forming arterioles
• Glomerulus is a blood vessel tightly coiled with efferent
and afferent arterioles & is covered by thin kidney cells to
form bowman’s capsule.
• Afferent arterioles deliver blood to glomerulus for
filtration.
• Filtered blood drains away by efferent arterioles
• A network of peritubular capillaries are connected to the
efferent arteriole, which is closely associated with the
nephron tubule & helps in reabsorption of water, ion, and
nutrients from the filtrate in the nephron tubule into it.
• The wall of afferent arteriole contains renin secreting
juxtaglomerular cells (site of synthesis and secretion of
enzyme renin, it plays an important function in renin-
angiotensin system).
15.
• Renal tubulehas three distinct regions:
neck region, proximal convoluted tubule
& distal convoluted tubule.
• Neck region is variable in length
• Proximal convoluted tubule (PCT) refers
to the convoluted portion of the nephron
between bowman’s capsule and loop of
henle.
• PCT lined by a single layer of cuboidal
cells & have brush borders, mitochondria
and lysosomes.
• PCT help to concentrate salt in the
interstitium (tissue surrounding the loop).
• U- shaped loop of henle help to link
proximal tubule to distal tubule.
Blood enter through
afferent arteriole
Blood goes out
through efferent
arteriole
Capsule wall
Capsule lumen
T.S of
DCT
T.S of
PCT
16.
• This loophave descending and ascending limbs.
• Distal convoluted tubules (DCT) refers to the convoluted portion of the nephron
between the loop of henle and the collecting duct.
• Lumen is made up of simple cuboidal epithelium.
• The cells lining DCT have numerous mitochondria, which help in active transport by
using ATP.
• Distal tubules from many nephrons connect to a common collecting duct.
17.
Endocrine elements infish kidney
Thyroid follicle: scattered in the haemopoietic
tissue of the head, mesonephric lobe (air
breathing fishes) and in trunk kidneys.
Corpuscles of stannius: located on the dorsal
side of the middle to posterior part of the
kidney, and it arises from the embryonic
pronephric duct.
• work in association with pituitary gland, which
exerts hypercalcemic effect, to balance
relatively constant level of serum calcium.
18.
 Inter renaltissue: homologous to adrenal
cortex in mammals.
• Secretes mineral corticoids (concerned
with fish osmoregulation) &
glucocorticoids (regulate carbohydrate
metabolism)
 Chromaffin cells: homologous to adrenal
medulla in mammals.
• Secrete adrenalin and noradrenalin.
• Inter renal tissue & chromaffin cells are
found diffused in head kidney near the
post cardinal vein.
19.
The difference betweenthe nephrons of freshwater and marine
teleost are;
Freshwater fish Marine fish
1 Renal corpuscles are more in
number
Renal corpuscles are less in number
2 Glomerulus are highly vascularised Poorly vascularised, sometimes non
functional or completely absent
3 Neck segment along with ciliated
epithelium
Neck segment short
4 Distal segment present absent (to prevent reabsorption of salts
into the body)
20.
2. THE GILLSURFACE
Gill can excrete carbon dioxide and ammonia
(through passive diffusion).
Chloride cells: important in ion excretion
• They are special type of columnar cells.
Which secrete Cl‾ from blood to seawater.
• The basal portion towards the blood &
apical upper part towards the seawater.
• Basal and later sides infolded to make the
smooth tubular system.
• The cell is covered by overlapping epithelial
cells except in apical region.
• This cells have a large nucleus and many
closely packed mitochondria.
• Pavement cells are connected by deep tight
junctions
Apical crypt
Golgi
Basel lamina
mitochondria
nucleus
Glycogen
granules
mucus
Mucous cell
21.
3. THE SKIN
•Minor role in excretion.
• Copious mucus secretion from gills/ skin may act as a vehicle for excreta.
• The mucus help in loss of unspecialized heavy metals as well as aluminium.
• The amphibious killifish Kryptolebias marmorotus may shift its route of nitrogenous
excretion to the posterior end of skin / kidney when out of the water.
4. VIA LIVER, BILE, INTESTINE
• minor role in excretion
• Its products are eliminated via bile and intestine / via blood &urine.
• In the winter flounder, Psedopleuronectes americanus the intestine cells have apical
membrane which help in the excretion of potassium ions.
• In some fishes, posterior intestine have rectal gland.
• Liver is the major site of ornithine cycle activity in ureogenic & ureotelic fishes.
22.
5. RECTAL GLAND
•It is a small finger like blind ending structure
attached to the rectum in many elasmobranchs
and the coelacanth fishes.
• Help to secrete sodium chloride (NaCl) from the
body.
• The rectal glands are compound tubular glands
with a central canal which continues as a duct
(start from the posterior ventral part of the
gland).
23.
• The rectalgland has three layers;
a) An outer capsule containing small
arteries and a peripheral
connective and muscle tissue layer.
b) A middle glandular layer consisting
of a zone of secreting tubules.
c) An inner layer having veins and
ducts arranged around a central canal
that terminate in a central duct.
• Mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, smooth
and rough endoplasmic reticulum also is
present.
24.
CONCLUSION
• Organisms indifferent environment uses different body parts for excretion.
• The organs involved are kidney, gills, liver, rectal glands, chloride cells and skin.
• Kidneys and gills are the chief organs of excretion in fishes (removing waste materials
produced during metabolism).
• Functional unit of kidney is nephron.
• In marine teleost, kidney remove magnesium & sulphide ions along with sodium,
chloride, potassium & calcium ions. Trimethylamine oxide (TMO) is also removed along
with small quantity of ammonia and urea.
• The gills remove ammonia & urea along with carbon dioxide.
• Chloride cells in gills important in ion excretion.
• Elasmobranchs have a small rectal gland which eliminate excess ions.