Pineal gland, Biology

Assignment Help:

PINEAL GLAND (EPIPHYSIS CEREBRI) -

  • It develops from the ectoderm of the embryo.
  • The pineal gland is located between the cerebral hemispheres, where it protrudes from the roof of the third ventricle.
  • The pineal gland is a small rounded body which consists of pineal cells and supporting glial cells.

Hormone - Melatonin concentration in the blood appears to flow a diurnal (day-night) cycle as it arises, in the evening and through the night and drops to a low around noon. Because of this light mediated response, the pineal gland may act as a kind of "biological clock" which may produce circadian rhythms (variations following a 24 hour cycle).

  • Melatonin lightens skin colour in certain animals and regulates working of gonads (testes and ovaries).
  • Light falling on the retina of the eye decreases melatonin production, darkness stimulates melatonin synthesis.

                      Girls blind from birth attain puberty earlier than normal, apparently because there is no                             inhibitory effect of melatonin on ovarian function.

  • Serotonin, a neurotransmitter found in other locations in the brain, is also found in the pineal gland. Research evidence is accumulating to support the idea that the pineal gland may be involved in regulating cyclic phenomena in the body.
  • In man the pineal gland starts to calcify at about the time of puberty. Such calcium deposits are called the brain sand.

Related Discussions:- Pineal gland

What are the grasslands of north america, What are the grasslands of North ...

What are the grasslands of North America and of South America respectively called? The steppe grasslands of North America are known as prairies. The grasslands of South America

Glycolysis, define glycolysis.describe the various steps of glycolysis

define glycolysis.describe the various steps of glycolysis

What is pancreas , What is Pancreas ? The pancreas lies in the abdomina...

What is Pancreas ? The pancreas lies in the abdominal cavity in a loop between the stomach and small intestine. The pancreas consists of two major types of cells: those produci

What is the determination of vitamin B2, What is the Determination of vitam...

What is the Determination of vitamin B 2 In the chemical method, the yellow-green fluorescence of aqueous solution of riboflavin is measured. In the microbiological assay, tur

Why is iodine important for human beings, Why is iodine important for human...

Why is iodine important for human beings? Iodine is a fundamental chemical element for the proper functioning of the thyroid since it is part of the hormones produced by this g

Explain the following terms in detail - homology, Explain the following ter...

Explain the following terms in detail - Homology, Homologous ? Structures that have a similar evolutionary origin however different functions. The wing of a bat and a whale's fl

Invertebrate groups possess segmented bodies, Which invertebrate groups pos...

Which invertebrate groups possess one, three, four or all of the features below?  Segmented bodies, hard exoskeleton, jointed legs, compound eyes, three pairs of walkin

Urine sugar testing, Testing for urine sugars is not recommended for either...

Testing for urine sugars is not recommended for either diagnosis or monitoring of patients with diabetes. This is because a urine sugar is not a reliable test. When no facilities a

What is concepts of chromosome, Q. What is the relation between the concept...

Q. What is the relation between the concepts of chromosome and chromatin? Are heterochromatin and euchromatin part of chromosomes? Every filament of chromatin is a complete DNA

Why do ribosomes move along mrna during translation, Why do ribosomes move ...

Why do ribosomes move along mRNA during translation? During translation the ribosome always exposes two mRNA codons to be translated by moving along the mRNA. When a peptide bo

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd