GROWTH OF STRIATED-MUSCLE FIBERS IN M-LATERALIS OF EUROPEAN EEL ANGUILLA-ANGUILLA (L) (PISCES, TELEOSTEI)

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  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 125  (MAR) , 447-460
Abstract
Growth of red and white muscle fibers in the eel [A. anguilla] were studied. Blocks of muscular tissue from the anal region of the eels was fixed in Bouin''s fluid. Fiber diameters were measured in samples of 100 contiguous fibers sectioned exactly perpendicular to the fiber direction. The areas of the cross sections of the fibers were compared. The red fibers of eels < 10 cm were unique in that their growth involved increase in diameter only. Growth of the red fibers in eels > 10 cm, and of the white fibers in eels at all lengths considered (up to 40 cm) was characterized by an increase in number and diameter, the relative importance of these 2 methods of growth being related to factors other than the length of the animal. The positions of the small, new fibers suggest an origin from satellite cells split off from the larger fibers.