Electron microscopic observations on the human substantia nigra

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Abstract
Substantia nigra was obtained from 2 elderly human beings approximately 2 hours after death. Pigment granules in the neurons of the substantia nigra were examined by electron microscopy. They were characterized by a linearly arranged pattern similar to that previously observed in melanocytes of skin and hair and in melanoma cells. The fine structure of these pigment granules was compared to the fine structure of lipofuscin granules in human skeletal muscle, pituitary, and brain. The lipofuscin granules had no striate internal substructure. Since the histochemical and physicochemical reactions of the pigment of the substantia nigra are identical to those of other melanins, and since they have the same ultra-structural crystalloid arrangement it is concluded that the pigment in the substantia nigra is indeed a type of melanin. The excellent preservation of cytological detail in the brainstem at 2 hours after death is shown.

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