Histological comparison of spleen and kidney tissue from farmed and wild European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.)

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of intensive farming on spleen and kidney histology. The study was carried out on sea bass reared intensively in sea-cages and fed with complete commercial diets. The control group of sea bass was wild fish caught in Tarska Bay, Istria. The investigation was focused on histological changes in spleen and kidney. Microscopic evaluation revealed that the number of melanomacrophage centers (MMC) was significantly higher (p<0.5) in spleen and kidney tissues from farmed fish. Atrophy and lysis of glomerular tufts were more pronounced in the kidney of reared fish, but this difference was significant (p<0.5) only for atrophy. While necrotic lesions were more pronounced in the kidney tubules of reared fish, the degree of lesion development was not significant (p>0.5) compared to the control. There were no differences in the occurrence of degenerative and inflammatory lesions in the kidney.