Morphological aspects of muscle regeneration in the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

The aim of our study was to analyze the morphological events in the skeletal muscle of the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) after a traumatic lesion. Thirty-two fish were used, on which a small longitudinal incision was made in the muscle. The fish were sacrificed after 7, 14, 21, and 42 days and muscle samples were collected from the lesion and processed for morphological analysis. Muscle regeneration in the tilapia occurred gradually through the analyzed period, possibly due to the proliferation and differentiation of myosatellite cells, which were more morphologically evident 7 and 14 days after lesion.