Embryonic development of the pineal gland of the chicken (Gallus gallus).

A study of the embryonic development of the pineal gland of the chicken was performed with the optical microscope. The time of apparition of the first outline, as a derivative of the roof of the third ventricle, was fixed at 3 days. The major portion of the pineal parenchyma is derived from the frontal wall of the outline. All the vesicles and follicles were formed by solid mammilliform projections which subsequently presented a central lumen. In no case was a communication of the follicular cavities with the pineal recess observed. Three categories of vesicles or follicles can be distinguished according to their origin.