This book will provide the readers with the most contemporary and
useful text possible. The book describes the most important recent developments
in sciences of fish histology. I am also recognizing that the readers
are faced with the tasks of learning an ever-increasing number of facts in
an ever-decreasing period of time. Because of this, every attempt has been
made to shorten the text wherever possible and to organize information in
a way that will facilitate learning.
Fish constitute nearly 60% of all vertebrate species and are economically
of major importance. The reporting of normal histology of fish
tissues and organs serves as a foundation upon which to gather and build
our ichthyopathology knowledge base.
The aim has been to present a general reference guide providing an
extensive set of histological images of fishes. Although several studies
treat histological aspects in relation to pathology, no recent synthesis on
the normal histology of fish is available. Therefore, I believe that this
textbook will be a main contribution to this field. The book is designed
to provide students with a foundation in understanding and interpreting
histologic and cytologic preparations and normal tissue components.
A text and colored atlas of histology of fish is designed for use by
students and researchers, biologists, ichthyologists, fish farmers, veterinarians
working in fisheries and, of course, by comparative histologists
who want to learn more about the fish world. As a further aid to learning,
numerous photomicrographs and electron micrographs amplify the text
in addition to particular emphasis on diagrams and tables to summarize
morphologic and functional features of cells, tissues, and organs.
All photomicrographs are original. Light microscopy has been illustrated
with color photomicrographs. Tissue and organ samples chosen to
illustrate this work have been selected from reared food fish, as well as
from species in the aquarium and in the wild.