Morphological and functional description of the development of the digestive system in meagre (Argyrosomus regius): An integrative approach

The morphological and functional development of the digestive system in meagre (Argyrosomus regius) was described by means of histological and enzymatic approaches in order to provide insight into the digestive physiology of the species at early life stages of development. Combining histological and enzymatic analytical procedures we evidenced that stomach's functionality did not match its morphological organization, since pepsin activity was not detected until some days after the appearance of the first gastric glands. This indicates that authors need to be cautious when extracting conclusions about the beginning of acid digestion and the onset of weaning of larvae just using histological data.