Morphometric Evaluation of the Number of Gonadotrophic Cells of the Teleost Rhamdia hilarii in the Maturation, Mature and Spent Stages of the Gonadal Cycle

Val-Sella, M. V., Sesso, A. 1980. Morphometric evaluation of the number of gonadotrophic cells of the teleost Rhamdia hilarii in the maturation, mature and spent stages of the gonadal cycle. (Department of General Physiology Institute of Biosciences and Laboratory of Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of S. Paulo, Brazil.) — Acta zool. (Stockh.) 61(3): 133–139. The numbers of vacuolated and non vacuolated gonadotrophic cells (GTH-cells) were estimated by the method number II of Aherne (1967) in 6 μm sections. The total number of GTH-cells (× 104) in the maturation, mature and spent stages were respectively: 43.3, 63.1 and 35.8. From these totals the number of cells (× 104) showing vacuolated cytoplasm were respectively: 18.1, 30.7 and 26.7. GTH-cells showing very large vacuoles possessed cavities of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) with the fantastic dimensions of several micrometers of diameter. The cytoplasm of non vacuolated GTH-cells was almost completely filled with secretory granules. Contemporaneously with the decline in number of GTH-cells, observed from the mature to the spent stages, there is a rise in the number (evaluated qualitatively) of chromophobe cells.