Color enhanced transmission electron micrograph of a melanocyte. Melanocytes are thought to be neuroectodermally-derived cells whose main function is to produce the pigment melanin, which is largely responsible for skin color and minimizes tissue damage by ultraviolet radiation. Ultrastructurally, as shown here, melanocytes contain premelanosomes and melanosomes, and their cytoplasmic processes extend between keratinocytes of the basal and lower prickle cell layers. (Enhancement of 7Y2332)