A Simple Guide to The Pineal Gland and Its Function (What You Need To Produce Melatonin) (A Simple Guide to Medical Conditions)

“Pineal gland
heaven in a grain of sand
one cell as a whole
expressing the soul

Called Nummulite
in Egypt
where the pharaohs
knew it

and build it
according to
their inner view
acting intuitively
on what they knew “

Posted by Poems from the Heart phone

“The relationship has been conclusively proven by recent studies of the pineal gland. This tiny organ in the center of the cranium has turned out to be more than the vaguely defined "third eye" of the mystics. It produces melatonin and serotonin, two neurohormones that, among many other functions, directly control all of the biocycles”

Robert O Becker.

This was going to be a book on the anatomy and physiology of the Pineal Gland

It still is a book on the Pineal Gland and what a human needs to produce Melatonin.

I will try to add some descriptions in simple vernacular words and make it more fun to read.


The pineal gland is a small organ shaped like a pine cone (hence its name).

In humans it is firm, red and roughly 1 cm in length,

It is located on the midline attached by a hollow stalk to the posterior end of the roof of the third ventricle in the brain.

It is dorsal to the superior colliculus and behind and beneath the stria medullaris between the laterally positioned thalamic bodies.

It is part of the epithalamus.

Clothed in pia mater, it is embedded in the dense connective tissue of the subarachnoid cistern of the great cerebral vein formed by the junction of the internal cerebral vein in the transverse fissure between the pineal and splenium of the corpus callosum.

It originates from the 3rd ventricle as a diverticulum later attached to stalk in the pineal recess.

A structure of the diencephalon of the brain, the pineal gland produces several important hormones including melatonin.

Melatonin influences sexual development and sleep-wake cycles.

The pineal gland is composed of cells called pinealocytes and cells of the nervous system called glial cells.

The pineal gland connects the endocrine system with the nervous system in that it converts nerve signals from the sympathetic system of the peripheral nervous system into hormone signals.


Function:

The pineal gland is involved in several functions of the body including:

Secretion of the Hormone Melatonin:

The pineal gland synthesizes and secretes melatonin a structurally simple hormone that communicates information about environmental lighting to various parts of the body.

Ultimately, melatonin has the ability to entrain biological rhythms and has important effects on reproductive function of many animals.

The light-transducing ability of the pineal gland has led some to call the pineal the third eye.

1. Regulation of Endocrine Functions

2. Conversion of Nervous System Signals to Endocrine Signals

3. Causes Feeling of Sleepiness

4. Influences Sexual Development

Location:

Directionally the pineal gland is situated between the cerebral hemispheres attached to the third ventricle.

Light exposure to the retina is first relayed to the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus, an area of the brain well known to coordinate biological clock signals.

Fibers from the hypothalamus descend to the spinal cord and ultimately project to the superior cervical ganglia, from which post-ganglionic neurons ascend back to the pineal gland.

Thus the pineal is similar to the adrenal medulla in the sense that it transduces signals from the sympathetic nervous system into a hormonal signal.

Melatonin:

The precursor to melatonin is serotonin, a neurotransmitter that itself is derived from the amino acid tryptophan.

Within the pineal gland, serotonin is chemically changed to yield melatonin.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Pineal Gland

Chapter 2 Pineal Gland Function

Chapter 3 Melatonin and Its Functions

Chapter 4 Pineal Cells and Endocrine Function

Chapter 5 The Third Eye

Chapter 6 Pineal Gland and Third Eye