Effects of perfusion pressure on the morphology of the central sinus in the trout gill filament.

The central sinus, a prominent component of the nonrespiratory, ionoregulatory vasculature of the fish gill has been variously described as a simple sack-like structure in the eel A. anguilla and as an intricate series of parallel vessels in the catfish I. punctatus. To resolve whether these differences are interspecific or methodological, corrosion replicas of the central sinus in the rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) were prepared at physiological and superphysiological perfusion pressures with a low-viscosity methyl methacrylate resin. At physiological perfusion pressure (30 mmHg, 4.0 kPa), the central sinus vasculature appears as a series of parallel vessels traversing the filament beneath, and in register with, the interlamellar filamental epithelium. At elevated perfusion pressure (55-65 mmHg, 7.3-8.7 kPa) the sinus becomes greatly distended and sack-like and the vessels appear to coalesce. These changes are most pronounced in the basal area of the filament and along the efferent filamental artery. The results show that the interpretation of the vascular organization of the central sinus is highly dependent on methodology. In addition, the sensitivity of the central sinus to changes in perfusion pressure suggests that the sinus plays a dynamic role in intrabranchial hemodynamics.