Melatonin Synthesis by an Ectopic Pinealoma

Abstract

THE term pinealoma has been used to refer to three different kinds of intracranial neoplasms. The first consists of the parenchymal pinealomas, which originate within the pineal gland and appear similar to the normal organ late in its embryonic life.¹ Histologically, they contain masses of large spheroidal "parenchymal cells" mixed in a mosaic pattern with a smaller cell indistinguishable from the lymphocyte.^{1 , 2} The second type, nonparenchymal pinealomas, which include about half the pineal tumors thus far reported,³ may take on the appearance of teratomas or may arise from supporting glial elements in the pineal body. Finally, ectopic pinealomas, which originate . . .