pineal gland (body)

Function

• the pineal produces melatonin

Structure

• a small, unpaired flattened body, attached at its anterior end to the region of the posterior commissure & habenular commissure
• it lies inthe depression between the 2 superior colliculi, below the splenium of the corpus callosum.
• the pineal is a glandular structure, consisting of follicles containing epithelioid cells & lime concretions called "brain sand".

Afferents

• despite its attachment to the brain, it appears to receive nerve fibers exclusively from the peripheral autonomic nervous system.

More general terms

• circumventricular organ
• brain structure

Additional terms

• melatonin
• splenium of corpus callosum

Component of

• epithalamus