Melanocytes morphology

Moore, K. J., Swing, D. A., Rinchik, E. M., Mucenski, M. L., Buchberg, A. M., Copeland, N, G., and Jenkins, N. A. (1988). The murine dilute suppressor gene dsu suppresses the coat color phenotype of three pigment mutations that alter melanocyte morphology, d, ash, and In. Genetics 119 933-941. 

IV. GENES AFFECTING MELANOCYTE/DERMIS INTERACTION AND THE MORPHOLOGY OF MELANOCYTES... 

The principal pigment of human skin, hair, and eyes is melanin, which is synthesized in specialized cells, the melanocytes. They lie between the epidermis (outer layer) and the dermis (inner layer) as shown in Box 8-F. Melanocytes originate from embryonic nervous tissue and migrate into the skin by the third month of fetal life. They retain the highly branched morphology of neurons. Persons of different races all have the same numbers of melanocytes but the numbers and sizes of the pigmented melanosomes (Box 8-F) vary as does the content and chemical composition of the melanin.a d Melanosomes not only are found in the dendrites of the melanocytes but are transferred from them into adjacent epithelial cells.6 1... 

Stratum comeum morphology Granular layer thickness Epidermal thickness Keratinocytic atypia Melanocytic atypia Epidermal mucin Epidermal melanin... 

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