Structure and function of the intestinal epithelial cells in the perch (<i>perca fluviatilis l.</i>)

Abstract

An ultrastructural study of the intestinal absorptive epithelium in perch (Perca fluviatilis) has shown that the perch intestine can be divided into three segments: the proximal segment, the middle segment and the distal segment. The enterocytes of the proximal segment are found to be concerned with lipid absorption. The adsorbed fat gives rise to the presence of two forms of inclusions: lipid particles and lipid droplets. Enterocytes of the middle segment exhibit the typical ultrastructural features of pinocytosis; these consist of extensive invaginations of the luminal surface membrane and acculation of vacuoles in the apical cytoplasm. Exogenous proteins are ingested by absorptive cells from the intestinal lumen by a process similar to that described in neonatal mammals. In the distal segment the absorptive cells have few, short microvilli. Besides the absorptive epithelial cells, goblet cells, endocrine cells, pear-shaped cells, and plasma cells are occasionally found.