Morphological changes in the pineal gland of rats under conditions of long-term exposure to bright light.

Changes in the diurnal light cycle affect the morphofunctional state of the pineal gland. The volume of the nucleus, Golgi apparatus, and mitochondria in pinealocytes decreases after 45-day exposure to bright light. After 90 days, the degree of nuclear polymorphism increased, the specific volume of the Golgi apparatus returned to normal, the volume of the granular endoplasmic reticulum decreased, while the volume of lysosomes, free ribosomes, and polysomes increased. These changes reflect plasticity of pinealocytes and adaptation of the gland to long-term 24-h light exposure.