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| Description: (a) The gills are protected beneath the operculum, which has been pulled open in this photo to reveal the gills underneath. (b) The gills are composed of gill arches, from which numerous pairs of filaments arise. Platelike lamellae with large amounts of surface area are arrayed along the filaments. Blood vessels from the filaments form capillaries in the lamellae. Blood flows through the capillaries in the opposite direction of water flowing between lamellae, a process called countercurrent exchange. (c) Lamellae as revealed in a scanning electron micrograph.
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