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Statistical relationships of weight of the human pineal to age and malignancy
Author(s) -
Rodin Alvin E.,
Overall John
Publication year - 1967
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(196708)20:8<1203::aid-cncr2820200804>3.0.co;2-2
Subject(s) - autopsy , malignancy , medicine , pineal gland , atrophy , pathology , body weight , pinealoma , physiology , circadian rhythm
A study of 147 human pineal glands from autopsy cases of all ages revealed a direct correlation between size and weight and a significant correlation of these with age but not with body weight, brain weight, sex or color. The growth pattern was nonlinear, with a sharp increase in size in the fifth and sixth decades. This increase was reduced but still apparent after removal of malignant cases from the sample. Pineal glands from malignant cases were significantly larger than the others. Histologic studies revealed a striking similarity of pineocytes from pineals of patients between ages 2 and 91, with no apparent differences in malignant cases. The authors conclude that the human pineal does not undergo cellular atrophy after puberty and that there is some relationship between the presence of malignancy and the weight of the human pineal.