Melanocytes week 10

Melanocytes increase in number, differentiate, and make premelanosomes

Melanosomes, the signature structural granule of melanocytes, appear in the 10th week of gestation, but do not do so uniformly. Melanocytes containing melanosomes first appear in the eyelids, external auditory canal and lips. By this time the density of melanocytes in epidermis has more than doubled to ~2300 cells/mm2. Melanocytes begin to take up their position among the basal keratinocytes along the dermal-epidermal junction .

return