Pinealocytes of female pigs were studied electron-microscopically and compared with those of other mammals. A prominent Golgi apparatus forming dense-cored vesicles was widely dispersed in the cytoplasm of the cell body. A very characteristic feature of the pig pinealocytes was the presence of membrane-bounded bodies showing wide variations in internal structure. Possible roles of the dense-cored vesicles and membrane-bounded bodies in secretory processes of pinealocytes are discussed.
The pineal glands of pregnant and nursing sows were studied by light and electron microscopy. Similar structural changes in the pineal gland during pregnancy and lactation were noted as follows: a proliferation of glial cells concurrent with a decrease in the number of pinealocytes, a relative increase in the number of pinealocytes with cytoplasmic accumulation of dense bodies, and an increase in number of presumptive microglia. It appears that pregnancy and lactation exert a complex influence on pineal function, with a predominantly stimulating effect.
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