Summary
The pineal gland from normal adult male rats has been grown in tissue culture and the findings with phase-contrast, time-lapse cinematography have been correlated with observations made with stained cultures and paraffin sections. At least three distinct parenchymal cells were observed:
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1.
The chief cell with characteristic processes exhibiting pinocytosis.
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2.
A fat-laden cell which showed rapid nuclear rotation.
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3.
A pineal basophile with distinct intracytoplasmic granules.
A fourth cell with marked emperiopolesis was described but this may represent an older stage of the chief cell. Astrocyte-like cells emigrated in abundance and macrophages were common in these cultures.
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Hungerford, G.F., Pomerat, C.M. Rat pineal parenchymal cells as observed in tissue culture. Zeitschrift für Zellforschung 57, 809–817 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00332463
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00332463