C H A P T E R

6
Zebrafish in Biomedical Research: Head and
Body: Anatomy
George E. Sanders
Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America

• External Anatomy that is the deepest (dorsal to ventral) point of the fish
• Body Configuration (fusiform) (Stoskoff, 1993). The body tapers from the head,
• Mouth including the operculum, to the trunk and from the trunk
• Operculum to the caudle peduncle and tail. There are other types of
• Vent fish morphology; however, this configuration is very
• Coelomic cavity and internal organ systems common and similar to other species of fish that are
• Sensory organs used in research, commercial aquaculture, and sport fish-
• Nostril eries worldwide (Stoskoff, 1993). The mouth (entrance to
• Barbels gastrointestinal tract), nostrils (entrance into the nasal
• Eyes passages), and vent (containing the combined
• Lateral Line urogenital openings) are externally located portals into
• Skin and out of the fish, and their location and configuration
• General coloration are similar to other cypriniform fishes (Figs. 6.1 and 6.2).
• Scales Because fish do not have a diaphragm physically
• General pattern and type separating a thorax from an abdomen, the coelomic
• Mucous (slime) layer cavity holds all of the internal organ of the fish. This cav-
• Fins ity is lined by a peritoneal layer, similar to mammals;
• Pectoral however, unlike mammals, this layer is pigmented
• Dorsal (Ferguson, 2006). The organ systems include musculo-
• Pelvic skeletal, cardiovascular, digestive, hematopoietic,
• Anal endocrine, renal, and reproductive (ovary or testes).
• Caudal The respiratory system is physically located outside of
and anterior to the coelomic cavity within the opercular
Introduction chamber (Stoskoff, 1993). Organ systems indicated are
described in subsequent chapters of this volume.
This chapter will describe the external anatomy of the The sensory organs associated with the head are the
zebrafish (Danio rerio). Additional descriptions of organ nostrils, barbels, and eyes; all are paired structures asso-
systems indicated in this chapter are covered in more ciated with chemoreception and vision. The nostrils
detail in later chapters. Together, these features contain the olfactory organs that are separate from the
contribute to the significant use of zebrafish as a respiratory system (Hara, 2000). Barbels are accessory
biomedical research animal model. feeding structures that carry sensory organs for olfac-
The external anatomy of the zebrafish can be divided tion/gustation and are one characterization of Cyprini-
by body sections, the head, the trunk, and the tail. Zebra- formes of which zebrafish are a representative (Elliott,
fish are fusiform in shape, which refers to the overall 2000; Hara, 2000). The lateral line system is incorporated
shape in which the head is smaller than the trunk, with into the skin of the zebrafish and is located from the head
a taper from the mouth to a point behind the pelvic fins of the fish to the caudle peduncle, includes all of the fins,

The Zebrafish in Biomedical Research

https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-812431-4.00006-3 77 © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
78 6. Zebrafish in Biomedical Research: Head and Body: Anatomy

Caudal tail
Dorsal Fin
Fin

E
Anal Fin O

Pelvic
Fin Pectoral
Fin

FIGURE 6.1 Digital photograph of a male zebrafish. The following anatomical features are indicated by arrows: mouth (M), nostril (N), eye (E),
operculum (O), pectoral, dorsal, pelvic, anal, and caudal tail fins. Note the fusiform body shape of the head, body, and tail with the horizontal dark
and light stripes. Photo provided by William Trevarrow, Ph.D.

Caudal Tail
Fin

Dorsal Fin
E

Anal
Fin
O Pectoral
B
Fin Pelvic
Fin

FIGURE 6.2 Digital photograph of a male zebrafish. The following anatomical features are indicated by arrows: mouth (M), eye (E), operculum
(O), barbel (B), pectoral, dorsal, pelvic, anal, and caudal tail fins. Note the fusiform body shape of the head, body, and tail with the horizontal dark
and light stripes. Photo provided by William Trevarrow, Ph.D.

and are associated with pressure wave detection and gus-
tation (Hara, 2000). Fish do not have external pinnae but
do have internal ears. This portion of the sensory system
is associated with the semicircular canals and
endolymph-filled ampullae/maculae each with its own
calcareous otolith (Stoskoff, 1993).
As in mammals, the skin is the largest organ system of
the fish. The integument is a protective physical barrier
that also assists in osmoregulation and is inclusive of the
characteristic horizontal stripes on the fish (Elliott, 2000;
Harper and Lawrence 2011). Several types of pigment
cells, and their final combinations, are necessary and

II. Biology
 References
associated with the general coloration of the striped
zebrafish. Scales are overlapping, bony, protective and
flexible structures associated with the integument of
the zebrafish. These are classified as cycloid, which is
described as being a round, thin, flat scale type (Elliott,
2000; Harper and Lawrence 2011). The entire fish is
covered with mucous secretions that keep the skin sur-
face free of pathogens by means of constant sloughing,
renewal, and the presence of antimicrobial substances
(Elliott, 2000).
The fins of the fish consist of paired pectorals and pel-
vic with unpaired dorsal, anal, and caudal tail fins and
are associated with propulsion and steering (Figs. 6.1
and 6.2). The pectoral fins are ventrally located on the
cranial trunk and originate from a musculoskeletal gir-
dle associated with the skull. The pelvic fins are also
ventrally located but are located cranial to the common
urogenital and anal openings, also known as the vent,
(Stoskoff, 1993; Stiassny, 2000) but are associated with
a different musculoskeletal girdle. The anal fin is located
ventrally caudal to the vent and the dorsal fin is located
in the caudal one third of dorsal aspect of the fish.
Conclusion
The external anatomy of zebrafish (Danio rerio) and
the varying components briefly described above are
II. Biology
79
important to the use of this fish as an established and
growing research animal model. Understanding these
components, how they develop, function, and can be
modified is critical to its continued and future incorpo-
ration in the search for knowledge about other aquatic
animal models and terrestrial organisms on the phyloge-
netic scale of complexity.
References
Elliott, D. G. (2000). Integumentary system chapter 5. In
G. K. Ostrander (Ed.), The laboratory fish (pp. 95e108). San Diego,
CA, USA: Academic Press.
Ferguson, H. W. (2006). Gastrointestinal tract, swimbladder, pancreas,
and peritoneum chapter 7. In H. W. Ferguson (Ed.), Systemic pathol-
ogy of fish (pp. 169e199). London, UK: Scotian Press.
Hara, T. J. (2000). Chemoreception chapter 15.3. In G. K. Ostrander
(Ed.), The laboratory fish (pp. 245e249). San Diego, CA, USA: Aca-
demic Press.
Biology chapter 1. In Harper, C., & Lawrence, C. (Eds.), The laboratory
zebrafish, (pp. 1e25). (2011) (pp. 1e25). Boca Raton, FL, USA:
CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group.
Stiassny, M. L. J. (2000). Skeletal system chapter 6. In G. K. Ostrander
(Ed.), The laboratory fish (pp. 109e118). San Diego, CA, USA: Aca-
demic Press.
Stoskoff, M. K. (1993). Anatomy chapter 1. In M. K. Stoskoff (Ed.), Fish
medicine (pp. 2e30). Philadelphia, PA, USA: W.B Saunders
Company.