Postmortem changes in the gills of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in freshwater and seawater

Gill samples were collected from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) carcases maintained in either freshwater or seawater. These samples were taken at 0, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12 hours after death and processed for light microscopy. Up to 8 hours after death the samples from the fish kept in seawater maintained their integrity much better than those from the fish kept in freshwater.