THE PINEAL BODY 165 



of a different character. Sarteschi ('10) 345 found that, as com- 

 pared with the adult animals, the epiphysis in the young rabbit 

 and guinea-pig was distinctly more glandular and in this regard 

 similar to the organ in birds. In the course of growth certain 

 regressive changes occur. Neuroglia and glandular cells were 

 present in all of the forms which Sarteschi studied. Constantini 

 ('10) 71 studied the pineal body of the ox, horse, and man. He 

 describes two types of epithelial cells, i.e., 1) acidophiles and 

 2) basophiles. He concludes that the pineal body in mammals is 

 an organ of internal secretion. Cutore ('10), 76 on the basis of a 

 study of many different mammals, concludes that there are the 

 following histological elements in the pineal body: 1) Epithelial 

 cells containing granules and delimiting the cavities of tubules 

 or acini. 2) Lymphatic elements very numerous in larger 

 mammals and massed about the epipthelial cells. 3) Connec- 

 tive tissue forming trabeculae producing an apparent trabecula- 

 tion of the parenchyma. This connective tissue contains elastic 

 fibers, blood vessels, lymph spaces, and pigment cells probably 

 belonging to the category of mast cells. Some of the latter 

 cells give evidence of a process of fragmentation. 4) Cal- 

 careous concretions of calcium carbonate and phosphate. These 

 latter are sometimes found as inclusions in the cytoplasm or in 

 the meshes of the connective tissue. Cutore believes it to be an 

 organ of such complex structure, constituted of neuroglia, 

 epithelium, lymphatic and connective tissues, so arranged as to 

 form acini and so highly vascular, that it cannot be considered 

 to be in a state of regression as is claimed by Moller, 278 Charpy, 62 

 Dejerine, 85 and others. Indeed, the highly specialized and char- 

 acteristic structure of the pineal body is sufficient justification 

 to attribute to it an internal secretory function. Galasescu 

 and Urechia ('10) 137 found in the vicinity of some of the blood 

 vessels round and oval cells with deeply staining nuclei situated 

 centrally in a cytoplasm which stains with acid stains, e.g., 

 eosin and fuchsin. The cytoplasm is granular and well demar- 

 cated. These acidophiles resemble those seen in the para- 

 thyroids. The authors propose to term these cells the 'para- 

 vascular acidophiles.' They believe these elements play a defi- 

 nite part in the internal secretion of the pineal body. 



