AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 239, Issue 1 161-R167, Copyright © 1980 by American Physiological Society
Hematologic response of fish to changes in gas or hydrostatic pressure
E. Casillas, L. S. Smith, J. J. Woodward and B. G. D'Aoust
Hematologic changes were studied in fingering salmon after rapid
decompression from combined or independent exposure to gas and hydrostatic
pressure. After decompression, fingerling salmon saturated with excess gas
under pressure (10.1-40.6 m of seawater) suffered a decrease in thrombocyte
counts and fibrinogen, prolonged prothrombin (PT) times, and increased
fibrinolytic activity, plasma proteins, and erythrocyte counts in
proportion to severity of the dive. After decompression, fingerling salmon
exposed to increased pressure experienced an increase in thrombocyte counts
and available fibrinogen, shortened PT times, increased erythrocyte counts,
and decreased plasma protein levels. It appeared that pressure causes
activation of the blood coagulation system of fish. This activation may
predispose the fish to increased susceptibility to bubble-induced diffuse
intravascular coagulation after rapid decompression. Furthermore,
hemoconcentration after decompression may be a pressure-related phenomenon
and not a response to bubble-induced anoxia.
