Biology Commons^™

The Effects Of Ultraviolet Irradiation On The Pigment Cells Of The Pet/Wmr Mouse Epidermis, Vaughan Henry Howard Jr.

Master's Theses

Epidermal melanocytes in mammals are known to occur in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. The basic melanocyte morphology is dependent upon genetics, but there are a number of environmental factors that can cause modification.

In the epidermis of PET/\vrnr mice, the population of rnelanocytes reaches a peak and begins to decline during the first post-natal week, and has disappeared within four weeks. Dispersed among the large, highly DOPA-reactive melanocytes are miniature melanocytes. These miniature melanocytes are weakly DOPA-reactive and appear early in the post-natal period. The miniature melanocyte population is relatively constant and these miniature cells are among …