DR TATHEER ZAHRA

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ANATOMY

 Develops with the brain from neuroectoderm of posterior
portion of diencephalon
 Median diverticulum from the caudal part of roof of the
Diencephalon
 Epithelial thickening in the midline

 Begins to evaginate by 7th week

 Eventually forms a solid organ on the roof of
mesencephalon
 Serve as a channel through which light & darkness affect
endocrine & behavioral rhythms
 Pineal gland/ Epiphysis cerebri
 Part of Epithalamus
 Attached to the brain by a short stalk

 Location: Depression between the superior colliculi;

Forms the posterior wall of the third ventricle
 Size, shape & texture: Small, pine cone-shaped organ, soft
 Dimensions: 8 mm long, 3–5 mm at its greatest width and
weighing about 150 mg (100-200 mg)
 Colour: Reddish-grey
 Coverings: Pia mater
 No Blood Brain Barrier (BBB)
 Superiorly: Splenium of the
corpus callosum

 Antero-superiorly: Tela
choroidea of the third
ventricle

 Antero-inferiorly: Midbrain

 Attached by a peduncle,
which divides into Inferior
and Superior Laminae
 ANTERIOR PART
(PARAPINEAL ORGAN)
Develops into Pineal/ 3rd / POSTERIOR PART
Parietal Eye in Reptiles. (GLANDULAR PART)
Disappeared in Humans Human Pineal represents the
Persistent Posterior Glandular
part only
 BLOOD SUPPLY: Rich blood supply
 Pineal arteries: Branches of the posterior cerebral
artery.
 Fenestrated capillaries
 Pineal veins: Open into the internal cerebral veins
and/or into the great cerebral vein.

 NERVE SUPPLY:
 Postganglionic adrenergic sympathetic axons (derived
from neurones in the superior cervical ganglion) ~
Nervus conarii, which may be single or paired
 Cords & clusters of Pinealocytes: Highly modified neurons
 Dense-cored vesicles which store melatonin
 Melatonin and its precursor serotonin, are synthesized
from tryptophan by the pinealocytes, and secreted into the
surrounding capillaries
 Astrocyte-like Neuroglia: Main cellular component of the
pineal stalk ~ 5% of the cells in the gland ~ Reminiscent of
pituicytes
 Covered by connective tissue of the pia mater, from which
emerge septa subdividing various sized groups of secretory
cells as lobules.
 Network of Fenestrated Capillaries & sympathetic fibers
 2nd decade ~ Calcareous deposits
 Variously sized concretions of calcium
and magnesium salts
 Precipitation around extracellular protein
deposits
 Calcium-carrier protein complex
 Corpora arenacea or ‘brain sand’
 Exhibit lamellated structure
 Detectable in skull radiographs
 Good midline marker in radiological and
computer-assisted tomography studies of
the brain
 Has for long been regarded as vestigial organ
 An endocrine gland of major regulatory importance
 Melatonin production → causes changes in skin color in
some species
 Secretions enter in CSF or the bloodstream
 Modifies the activity of the pituitary, endocrine pancreas,
parathyroids, adrenal cortex & medulla, gonads ~ Largely
inhibitory, either by direct action or indirectly by inhibiting
production of hypothalamic releasing factors
 In animals also produce serotonin, norepinephrine,
dopamine, histamine, & hypothalamic regulating hormones
(somatostatin & TRH)
 Role of Pineal Gland Secretions in Regulation of
Reproductive Functions via inhibiting GnRH secretion

 Pineal gland tumors associated with precocious puberty

 Animal studies demonstrate that information relating to

the length of day/ night cycle reaches the pineal gland
from photoreceptors in the retina ~ Influences the
seasonal sexual activity
 Pineal secretions show circadian (24 hours, day/night)
rhythms in concentration ~ Neuroendocrine Transducer

 Photosensitive organ

 Time keeper & regulator of day & night cycle

 Level rises during darkness, and falls during the day,

when secretion may be inhibited by sympathetic activity

 Circadian oscillator in the hypothalamus

 RETINO-HYPOTHALAMIC TRACT

SUPRACHIASMATIC NUCLEUS OF HYPOTHALAMUS

TEGMENTUM OF MIDBRAIN

RETICULOSPINAL TRACT FROM MIDBRAIN

SYMPATHETIC OUTFLOW OF THORACIC PART OF SPINAL CORD & SUPERIOR CERVICAL GANGLION

POSTGANGLIONIC NERVE FIBERS

PERI-VASCULAR NERVE PLEXUS

PINEAL GLAND
 Recent studies in humans suggest that pineal gland
has a role in adjusting to sudden changes in day
length e.g., experienced by travelers who suffer from
jet lag

 Pineal gland may play role in alternating emotional

responses to reduced day length during winter in
temperate & subarctic zones (Seasonal Affective
Disorder ~ SAD)
Gray’s Anatomy - Latest Edition

Clinical Neuroanatomy Foe Medical Students, By RICHARD

S. SNELL - Latest Edition

Basic Histology Text & Atlas, By LUIZ CARLOS

JUNQUEIRA & JOSé CARNEIRO - Latest Edition

Histology – A Text & Atlas, BY Michael H. Ross & Wojeiech

Pawlina - Latest Edition