Scanning electron microscopic study of the freeze-fractured pineal body of the rat.

The three-dimensional ultrastructure of the pineal body of the rat is described on the basis of freeze-fractured preparations. The pineal capsule consists of irregular cells with very flat and perforated processes. Through these openings, extremely branched canaliculi, extending to almost every pineal cell, communicate with the tissue compartment outside the organ. The pericapillary spaces contain, in juxtaposition with capillaries of the fenestrated type, nerve fibers as well as a flocculent granular and filamentous material of unknown origin and chemical nature.