The Pituitary Gland (Hypophysis)

Pituitary gland

The pituitary gland is a pea-shaped structure that measures

1–1.5 cm in diameter and lies in the hypophyseal fossa of the
sella turcica of the sphenoid bone.

It attaches to the hypothalamus by a stalk, the infundibulum

(a funnel;), and has two anatomically and functionally
separate portions:

the anterior pituitary and the posterior pituitary.

 The anterior pituitary (anterior lobe), also called the adenohypophysis,
accounts for about 75% of the total weight of the gland.

 The anterior pituitary consists of two parts:

 The pars distalis is the larger portion, and the pars tuberalis forms a sheath
around the infundibulum.

 The posterior pituitary (posterior lobe), also called the neurohypophysis, also
consists of two parts: the pars nervosa, the larger bulbar portion, and the
infundibulum.

 A third region of the pituitary gland called the pars intermedia atrophies
during human fetal development and ceases to exist as a separate lobe in
adults.

 However, some of its cells migrate into adjacent parts of the anterior
pituitary, where they persist.
Anterior Pituitary

The anterior pituitary (lobe), or adenohypophysis is composed of

glandular tissue, and it manufactures and releases a number of
hormones.

The anterior pituitary or adenohypophysis secretes hormones

that regulate a wide range of bodily activities, from growth to
reproduction.

Release of anterior pituitary hormones is stimulated by releasing

hormones and suppressed by inhibiting hormones from the
hypothalamus.

Thus, the hypothalamic hormones are an important link between

the nervous and endocrine systems.
Hypophyseal Portal System

 In the hypophyseal portal system, blood flows from capillaries in the

hypothalamus into portal veins that carry blood to capillaries of the anterior
pituitary.

 The superior hypophyseal arteries, branches of the internal carotid arteries,

bring blood into the hypothalamus.
 At the junction of the median eminence of the hypothalamus and the
infundibulum, these arteries divide into a capillary network called the primary
plexus of the hypophyseal portal system.

 From the primary plexus, blood drains into the hypophyseal portal veins that
pass down the outside of the infundibulum.

 In the anterior pituitary, the hypophyseal portal veins divide again and form
another capillary network called the secondary plexus of the hypophyseal
portal system.
• Near the median eminence and above the optic chiasm are clusters of
specialized neurons, called neurosecretory cells.
• They synthesize the hypothalamic releasing and inhibiting hormones
in their cell bodies. The hormones then diffuse into the primary plexus of the
hypophyseal portal system.
Quickly, the hypothalamic hormones flow with the blood through the portal
veins and into the secondary plexus.
This direct route permits hypothalamic hormones to act immediately on
anterior pituitary cells, before the hormones are diluted or destroyed in the
general circulation.

• Hormones secreted by anterior pituitary cells pass into the secondary

plexus capillaries, which drain into the anterior hypophyseal veins and out
into the general circulation.
• Anterior pituitary hormones then travel to target tissues throughout the
body. Those anterior pituitary hormones that act on other endocrine
glands are called tropic hormones or tropins.
Types of Anterior Pituitary Cells

Five types of anterior pituitary cells—somatotrophs, thyrotrophs, gonadotrophs,

lactotrophs, and corticotrophs—secrete seven hormones:

1. Somatotrophs secrete human growth hormone (hGH) or somatotropin.

hGH promote synthesis and secretion of small protein hormones called insulin
like growth factors (IGFs) or somatomedins . In response to human growth
hormone, cells in the liver, skeletal muscles, cartilage, bones, and other tissues
secrete IGFs, which may either enter the bloodstream from the liver or act
locally in other tissues as autocrines or paracrines.

2. Thyrotrophs secrete thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) or thyrotropin.

TSH controls the secretions and other activities of the thyroid gland.
Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) stimulates the synthesis
and secretion of the two thyroid hormones, triiodothyronine (T3)
and thyroxine (T4), both produced by the thyroid gland.
3. Gonadotrophs secrete two gonadotropins:
follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH).

FSH and LH both act on the gonads. They stimulate secretion of estrogens and
progesterone and the maturation of oocytes in the ovaries, and they stimulate
sperm production and secretion of testosterone in the testes.

Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) from the hypothalamus stimulates

FSH and LH release.

4. Lactotrophs secrete prolactin (PRL), which initiates milk production in the

mammary glands.
The hypothalamus secretes both inhibitory and excitatory hormones
that regulate prolactin secretion.
5. Corticotrophs secrete adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) or
corticotropin , which stimulates the adrenal cortex to secrete
glucocorticoids such as cortisol.

Some corticotrophs, remnants of the pars intermedia, also secrete

melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH).

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone
Corticotrophs secrete mainly adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH).
ACTH controls the production and secretion of cortisol and other
glucocorticoids by the cortex (outer portion)of the adrenal glands.
Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) from the hypothalamus stimulates
secretion of ACTH by corticotrophs.

Melanocyte-stimulating Hormone
Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) increases skin pigmentation
in amphibians by stimulating the dispersion of melanin granules in
melanocytes.
Posterior Pituitary
The posterior lobe plus the infundibulum make up the region called the
neurohypophysis .

The posterior pituitary (lobe) is composed largely of pituicytes (glia-like

supporting cells) and nerve fibers. It releases neurohormones (hormones
secreted by neurons) received ready-made from the hypothalamus. Thus,
this lobe is a hormone-storage area and not a true endocrine gland in the
precise sense.

It consists of axons and axon terminals of more than 10,000 hypothalamic

neurosecretory cells.
The cell bodies of the neurosecretory cells are in the paraventricular and
supraoptic nuclei of the hypothalamus; their axons form the
hypothalamohypophyseal tract .
The paraventricular nucleus synthesizes the hormone oxytocin and the
supraoptic nucleus produces antidiuretic hormone (also called
vasopressin .

Blood is supplied to the posterior pituitary by the inferior hypophyseal

arteries, which branch from the internal carotid arteries.

In the posterior pituitary, the inferior hypophyseal arteries drain into the
capillary plexus of the infundibular process, a capillary network that
receives secreted oxytocin and antidiuretic hormone.

From this plexus, hormones pass into the posterior hypophyseal veins for
distribution to target cells in other tissues.
Oxytocin
During and after delivery of a baby, oxytocin affects two target tissues: the
mother’s uterus and breasts. During delivery, oxytocin enhances contraction of
smooth muscle cells in the wall of the uterus; after delivery, it stimulates milk
ejection (“letdown”) from the mammary glands in response to the mechanical
stimulus provided by a suckling infant.

Antidiuretic Hormone
As its name implies, an antidiuretic is a substance that decreases urine
production. ADH causes the kidneys to return more water to the blood, thus
decreasing urine volume.
This hormone’s other name, vasopressin, reflects this effect on blood pressure.
The amount of ADH secreted varies with blood osmotic pressure and blood
volume.
 points

The median eminence is a part of the hypothalamus from which regulatory hormones are released. It is integral to the
hypophyseal portal system, which connects the hypothalamus with the pituitary gland

The optic chiasm, or optic chiasma is the part of the brain where the optic nerves cross. It is located at the
bottom of the brain immediately inferior to the hypothalamus

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF), formerly called somatomedin, any of several peptide hormones that function primarily to
stimulate growth but that also possess some ability to decrease blood glucose levels

Prolactin is present in men but has not yet got a clear role. It is a field for investigation. Hypersecretion of prolactin in men has been
associated with decreased sexual desire, infertility, reduction of testosterone and erectile dysfunction

Oxytocin in males: secreted . Function little known. May have: sperms movement, testosterone production, social/ sexual behaviour.