RECOVERY OF DAMAGES IN THE SKIN OF ARSENIC EXPOSED CLARIAS BATRACHUS (LINN.) FOLLOWING WITHDRAWAL OF THE STRESS

The bottom dwelling air-breathing catfish, clarias batrachus (linn.) also respires via its skin (anaccessory water-breathing organ). prolonged (90 days) exposure to disodium arsenate heptahydrate hascaused massive damage (e.g. wear and tear of various cellular components including club cells,hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the goblet mucous cells, altered staining and the slimy secretion) to theepidermis of its skin. the present study investigated the recovery in architecture of the damagedepidermis following return of the 90 days disodium arsenate heptahydrate exposed fish to clean water.the significant regeneration of its different cellular components (epithelial cells, club cells, mucouscells) took place after 24 h of withdrawal when sloughing; wear and tear and other damages of theepidermis of the skin got substantially reduced. the histopathological alterations which still continuedincluded squeezing out of contents of the club cells that formed a thin layer on the body surface.regeneration of the club cells continued throughout the epidermis even though the newly formed clubcells still showed massive sign of degeneration. altered staining behaviour and hyperactivity of themucous cells continues even after prolonged withdrawal of the stress of the arsenic salt. similarly theglycoproteins of the slime secreted by the mucous cells retained their sulphate moieties. this indicatesthat disodium arsenate heptahydrate induces certain permanent non-reversible damages including alteredmucogenic activity in the epidermis of the skin of c. batrachus.