Unusual Configurations of Endoplasmic Reticulum in Pinealocytes of the Djungarian Hamster (Phodopus sungorus)

Ultrastructural observations of the pineal gland of Phodopus sungorus revealed different morphological forms of endoplasmic reticulum. These included crystalloids composed of 200A-wide tubules with an intervening space of 200A and connected at right angles to form a rectangular lattice; complexes of undulating 500A-wide tubules in an electron-dense cytoplasmic matrix; and stacks of flattened cisternae covered with granular electron-dense material. All these structures are continuous with the surrounding endoplasmic reticulum. Frequently one structure is directly connected with another. The exact function of these structures derived from the endoplasmic reticulum is still unclear, but they can be assumed to be morphological features of augmented secretory activity.