Functional morphology of the pineal gland in young chickens.

One and two-month-old chickens were killed at mid light and mid dark under the experimental photoperiod (LD 12: 12). The pineal glands of the young chickens are composed of parenchymal cells and large follicles, presenting a tubulofollicular arrangement. The sensory-like pinealocytes are pear-shaped and have a cilium with 9 + 0 axial configuration projecting into the lumen. Their cytoplasm has cell organelles, small granulated vesicles about 100 nm in diameter and synaptic ribbons. The concentric lamellar complexes like myelin sheaths are frequently observed in the follicular lumen. The secretory-like supporting cells have irregular-shaped microvilli and some granulated vesicles about 200 nm in diameter in the vicinity of the apical surfaces. Occasionally, a few nerve cells are found in the pineal parenchyma. It was found that the sensory-like pinealocytes of the young chickens have many mitochondria, well-developed Golgi complexes and large lysosomes in solid type in the light period, whereas they have a few cell organelles and somewhat smaller rod-like lysosomes with some vacuoles in the dark period. On the other hand, the sensory-like pinealocytes have more synaptic ribbons in the dark period than in the light period.