Elastic system fibers (oxytalan, elaunin and elastic fibers) in the skin of a freshwater teleost : optical and electron microscopy study.

The oxytalan, elaunin and elastic fibers which represent a system of connective tissue fibers -- the elastic system (ESP) -- were studied in the dermis of a teleost by optical and electron microscopy. The oxytalan fibers were identified at the dermo-epidermal junction. They are bound, by one of their extremities to the basal lamina, and by the other are in continuity with elaunin fibers. The elaunin fibers cross the entire stratum compactum perpendicularly and in the deeper zone are interconnected to other elaunin fibers. Thick elastic fibers, forming an apparent continuous layer were observed between the stratum compactum and the stratum spongiosum. The ultrastructural characteristics and functional properties of the ESF are discussed.