Anatomy Bones and Muscles · MU Pleven

84. Pituitary gland

Covers the position of the pituitary gland in the sella turcica and its relations to surrounding structures, then its anterior and posterior lobes with their subdivisions. Also describes the arterial supply through the superior and inferior hypophysial arteries and the portal system, plus venous drainage into the cavernous sinus. Histology of the anterior lobe's cell types and hormones is followed by the posterior lobe's hypothalamic axons, and the note ends with the functions of each lobe, including neurosecretion.

Inside: 6 sections · 2 labelled pictures · 10 flashcards · 3 min

Topic 83 of 236 in the MU Pleven syllabus for Anatomy Bones and Muscles (Medicine, Year 2). The free AceMed note covers it in 6 sections, about 477 words (3 min of reading), with 10 flashcards.

In this note

  1. (Endocrine Glands.) PITUITARY GLAND
  2. Structure:
  3. Blood Supply:
  4. Syntopy:
  5. Histology:
  6. Functions:

(Endocrine Glands.) PITUITARY GLAND

  • It is a small oval gland located at the base of the brain.
  • Is the master of endocrine glands
  • Site: in the hyposeal fossa (sella turcica).
  • located in the sphenoid bone.

Structure:

  • 1 Adenohypophysis (anterior lobe)
  • 1.1 Pars distalis – the major part of the anterior lobe
  • 1.2 Pars intermedia – a strip of hypophyseal tissue at the border with the posterior lobe
  • 1.3 Pars tuberalis – a layer surrounding the stalk of the posterior lobe
  • 2 Neurohypophysis (posterior lobe)
  • 2.1 Infundibulum – the stalk of the posterior lobe
  • 2.2 Neural lobe – the posterior lobe itself

Blood Supply:

Arterial blood supply:

  • 1 Superior hypophysial artery (a branch of the internal carotid artery) – supplies the infundibulum and median eminence
  • 2 Portal system of the hypophysis – originates from the spiral arteries in the pituitary stalk and continues to the second capillary bed in the adenohypophysis
  • 3 Trabecular artery – supplies the pars distalis of the anterior lobe
  • 4 Inferior hypophysial artery (branch of the internal carotid artery) – supplies the posterior lobe

Venous drainage:

  • 5 Hypophysial veins (into the cavernous sinus)

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