ANATOMY

Detailed explanation-1: -In fish, gill lamellae are used to increase the surface area in contact with the environment to maximize gas exchange (both to attain oxygen and to expel carbon dioxide) between the water and the blood. In fish gills there are two types of lamellae, primary and secondary.

Detailed explanation-2: -Gills consist of plate-like structures called filaments that are covered by an array of lamellae enclosing a capillary blood network, as shown in Fig. 1 (1, 2). Oxygen-rich water passes through the narrow channels formed by the lamellar layers, where oxygen diffuses into the capillaries.

Detailed explanation-3: -Gills usually consist of thin filaments of tissue, lamellae (plates), branches, or slender, tufted processes that have a highly folded surface to increase surface area. The delicate nature of the gills is possible because the surrounding water provides support.

Detailed explanation-4: -Gills are the main respiratory organs of aquatic animals. Each gill bears rows of comb-like, soft, thin gill-filament, each gill-filament bears many flat, parallel membrane-like gill-lamellae. Each gill lamella carries many blood capillaries.

Detailed explanation-5: -The gill filaments of bony fishes are also called “primary lamellae."2 They are intricate structures that have a large surface area. Smaller “secondary lamellae” are offshoots of the primary filaments. The secondary lamellae contain small blood capillaries and the blood flows in the opposite direction of the water.