Ultrastructural Analysis of the Liver of the Snow Trout, Schizothorax curvifrons Heckel

Liver samples of the snow trout, Schizothorax curvifrons have been studied with the aid of Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) after carrying out their primary fixation in Karnovskys fluid buffered with 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer and secondary fixation in 1% osmium tetraoxide in 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer with the objectives of describing the normal subcellular structure of hepatic tissue and intrahepatic exocrine pancreatic tissue, setting thereby a strong platform for further studies in relation to pollution, stress conditions in aquaculture, natural and polluted environments and pathobiology of teleost liver. The structural analysis reveals that the hepatocytes possess a centrally located nucleus with distinct nucleolus and heterochromatin situated close to the porous karyolemma. The cisternae of Granular Endoplasmic Reticulum (GER) are arranged in an array parallel to the karyolemma and the mitochondria varying in shape from circular to elongate are found in close association of the Granular Endoplasmic Reticulum (GER), besides a good content of scattered glycogen occupies major part of the cytoplasm of the hepatocytes. The intrahepatic exocrine pancreatic tissue diffused in the hepatic parenchyma exhibit a uniform density of secretory granules at the apical portion, thereby displacing the nucleus towards the basal region of the cell.