Morphometry of the human pineal gland: relationship to the adrenal cortex.
To investigate the role of the pineal gland in the endocrine system, we examined 26 autopsy cases dying from non-neoplastic diseases. The study was carried out on the hypothetic basis of the possible influences of the pineal gland on the pituitary-adrenal axis, which we believe to be existing also in man. Measurements on the pineal gland revealed that the weight of the gland was directly proportional to the volume (r=0.94; P less than 0.001) and also to the nuclear density of the parenchyme (r=0.65; P less than 0.01). Then, the interrelationship between the weight of the pineal gland and the thickness of the adrenal cortex was determined (r=-0.56; P less than 0.05). The pineal gland was significantly larger in weight in the prednisolone treated patients (166 +/- 66 mg. [+/-SD]) than in the others (97 +/- 52 mg; P less than 0.05). We conclude that the functional antagonism exists between the pineal gland and the adrenal cortex in man, although the mechanism involved has not been clarified yet.
D000293:Adolescent; D000302:Adrenal Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001699:Biometry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology