Summary of Fish Fin (Biological & Biomedical Sciences Research Paper)

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Summary of Fish fin
This paper is a summarized content on the constituent components of the fish fin, its mechanics, and its role. The fish fin, which looks like a fan, is a structural fish section of dermal origin. It supported bony rays, which are formed via direct mineralization of type I collagen Mahamid et al., pp 12748). Each bony ray structure is comprised of two aligned symmetrical elements, which are longitudinally segmented, and these segments are held tightly by collagen fibers, resulting in flexible joints. Fin ray bones are made up of collagen fibrils, which are arranged laterally as aligned bundles (Mahamid et al., pp. 12748).
Fin growth is a continuously active process. Its longitudinal growth in terms of fin ray bones happens by the addition of new segments to the fin’s distal end, as the proximal segment thicken progressively. The organization of a non-mineralized collagen framework elicits the emergence of such new segments in the fin, which is subsequently impregnated with carbonated hydroxyapatite mineral. The non-mineralized matrix is an organization of well-assembled collagen. Two alternating phases control fin growth, i.e., the addition of new bone segment and stasis phases (Mahamid et al., pp. 12748). In the context of these phases, fin overgrowth can be witnessed in various long-fin strains if the stasis phase is bypassed, such that the fines are characterized by beings larges as well as having active one growth at any given time
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Fish fins have a unique role to play in fish. Fins are appendages that are used by the fish to maintain its position, move, steer, and stop. They are located on various body regions of the fish, including dorsal, centerline, caudal and anal, which encompasses the paired fins on the chest and pelvic. The caudal fin is one of the critical fins in fish regarding body mechanics. Engineers have often viewed the caudal fin of fish as a propulsive surface that is flapped by fish in a two-dimensional motion, which is magnified by the undulatory wave generated by myotomal body musculature. However, the caudal fin is not exclusively used for thrust production but also functions to create forces and moments that modulate the orientation of the fish through sophisticated conformational changes and motion (Esposito et al. (pp.56). The conformation body shape changes, and its associated kinematic patterns are resultant of fin rays in the caudal fin that moved by intrinsic caudal musculature. It is crucial to note that the musculature is quite distinct from the segmented body muscles