Ad
related to: pineal gland calcification race
Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The calcified gland is often seen in skull X-rays. [35] Calcification rates vary widely by country and correlate with an increase in age, with calcification occurring in an estimated 40% of Americans by age seventeen. [35] Calcification of the pineal gland is associated with corpora arenacea, also known as "brain sand".
Corpora arenacea (singular: corpus arenaceum, [1] also called brain sand or acervuli [2] [3] or psammoma bodies [4] or pineal concretions [4]) are calcified structures in the pineal gland and other areas of the brain such as the choroid plexus. Older organisms have numerous corpora arenacea, whose function, if any, is unknown.
A pineal gland cyst is a usually benign (non-malignant) cyst in the pineal gland, a small endocrine gland in the brain. Historically, these fluid-filled bodies appeared on 1-4% of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans, but were more frequently diagnosed at death, seen in 4-11% of autopsies. [ 1 ]
Calcification is the accumulation of calcium salts in a body tissue. It normally occurs in the formation of bone, but calcium can be deposited abnormally in soft tissue, [1] [2] causing it to harden. Calcifications may be classified on whether there is mineral balance or not, and the location of the calcification. [3]
Pineocytoma, is a rare, benign, slowly growing tumor of the pineal gland. The pineal gland is a small endocrine gland close to the center of the brain that secretes melatonin into the bloodstream. Pineocytomas can cause pressure and fluid build-up in the brain. They are more common in adults.
The pineal gland is a small organ in the center of the brain that is responsible for controlling melatonin secretion. [2] Several tumors can occur in the area of the pineal gland, with the most aggressive being pineoblastoma. Pineoblastomas arise from embryonal cells in the pineal gland and are rapidly growing.
Hydroxyapatite crystals are also found in pathological calcifications such as those found in breast tumors, [8] as well as calcifications within the pineal gland (and other structures of the brain) known as corpora arenacea or "brain sand". [9]
An abundance of cilia and centrioles has also been found in these Type 2 cells of the pineal gland. [7] Unique to the Type 2 is the presence of vacuoles containing 2 layers of membrane. [7] As Type 1 cells contain serotonin, Type 2 cells contain melatonin and are thought to have similar characteristics as endocrine and neuronal cells. [8]