Distribution of nephrons in the head kidney of three species of Sebastes (Teleostei: Scorpaenidae).

The nephron is generally not distributed in the head kidney of teleost. However, in this study, the nephron structure was identified in the head kidney of three species of Sebastes (S. inermis, S. schlegelii, and S. thompsoni). The kidney is "Y" in shape with the development in the head kidney. The nephron structure was confirmed in the head kidney and body kidney. In addition, the nephron is composed of renal corpuscles and tubules, and the renal corpuscle is composed of Bowman's capsule and glomerulus. Histologically, previous studies reported that the nephron structure is similar to that of other marine teleost. The renal tubule is a simple columnar epithelial layer with microvilli and cilia on the free surface, which is observed as a brush border. The Rrk (relative area ratio of kidney to body surface) was 5.14%, 7.58%, and 5.17% in S. inermis, S. schlegelii, and S. thompsoni, respectively. The Gar (glomerular area ratio of the head kidney) was higher in the central area than in the peripheral area, and species, which showed significant difference (P < 0.05), were in the following order: S. thompsoni (1.60%) > S. schlegelii (0.90%) > S. inermis (0.66%). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.