Abstract:
Heavy metals are serious pollutants in the aquatic environment, as they are persistence and can be accumulated in the body of aquatic organisms. A research on the kidney structure of Hemibagrus nemurus Blkr. that was exposed to sublethal concentrations of mercury was carried out in the laboratory. There were 20 fishes used in this study, 10 fish for controls (0 ppm) and 10 for treatment (0.49 ppm, 96 hours). The kidney samples were processedusing alcohol series, paraffin method and stained with Haematoxylin-Eosin. Results shown that there were abnormalities in the behaviour, morphology, and histological structure of the kidney.Within 24 hours after being treated with sublethal concentrations of mercury, the fish became frantic but then became weaken and die within 96 hours. There were irritation symptoms and wound in the skin and fins. By the 96th hour the kidney was swelling, and pale. Histological structure of the kidney shown hemorrhage, inflammation, cell hypertrophy, cell atrophy, and tissue necrosis. Based on data obtained, it can be concluded that the sublethal concentrations of mercury causes negative impact on the kidney H. nemurus Blkr
