松果腺细胞是松果腺最主要的细胞，负责制造和分泌褪黑素。

松果腺细胞有一个细胞器叫作突触带（synaptic ribbon），这被认为是松果腺细胞一个特别的标志。松果腺细胞的大量酵素包含了用来将血清张力素转换成褪黑素的5-羟色胺N-乙酰转换酶与5-羟氧吲哚-O-甲基转移酶。

松果腺细胞分泌褪黑素经由像神经元轴索的长细胞质突起才进到微血管中。而褪黑素的分泌受到来自颈上神经节的交感神经分布所刺激。松果腺细胞也有较短的细胞质突起，借由胞桥小体与间隙连接链接到其他邻近的松果体细胞。

松果体细胞有大型形状不规则的细胞核，具有明显的核仁在里面。

Pinealocytes are the main cells contained in the pineal gland, located behind the third ventricle and between the two hemispheres of the brain. The primary function of the pinealocytes is the secretion of the hormone melatonin, important in the regulation of circadian rhythms. In humans, the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus communicates the message of darkness to the pinealocytes, and as a result, controls the day and night cycle. It has been suggested that pinealocytes are derived from photoreceptor cells. Research has also shown the decline in the number of pinealocytes by way of apoptosis as the age of the organism increases. There are two different types of pinealocytes, type I and type II, which have been classified based on certain properties including shape, presence or absence of infolding of the nuclear envelope, and composition of the cytoplasm.