Pituitary gland

Pituitary gland
Pituitary gland
	Lateral view
	Position of pituitary gland
Details
Precursor	Neural and oral ectoderm, including Rathke's pouch
Artery	Superior hypophyseal artery, infundibular artery, prechiasmal artery, inferior hypophyseal artery, capsular artery, artery of the inferior cavernous sinus
Identifiers
Latin	hypophysis cerebri, glandula pituitaria
MeSH	D010902
NeuroLex ID	birnlex_1353
TA98	A11.1.00.001
TA2	3853
FMA	13889
	Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy

The pituitary gland or hypophysis is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, the pituitary gland is located at the base of the brain, protruding off the bottom of the hypothalamus. The human pituitary gland is oval shaped, about the size of a chickpea,^[2] and weighs 0.5 grams (0.018 oz) on average.

Hormones secreted from the pituitary gland help to control growth, blood pressure, energy management, all functions of the sex organs, thyroid gland, metabolism, as well as some aspects of pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, water/salt concentration at the kidneys, temperature regulation, and pain relief.

^ Gibo H, Hokama M, Kyoshima K, Kobayashi S (1993). "[Arteries to the pituitary]". Nippon Rinsho. 51 (10): 2550–4. PMID 8254920.
^ Leng, Gareth (2018). The Heart of the Brain: The Hypothalamus and its Hormones. The gland in humans is described in Wikipedia as being the size of a pea. So common is this description that it seemed likely to be wrong, as I confirmed by examining a selection of peas. Wikipedia also gives the weight of the human pituitary as about half a gram, and in this it is more correct. The pituitary in a human is at least five times the average size of my peas; it is more like the size of a chickpea.

[1] Gibo H, Hokama M, Kyoshima K, Kobayashi S (1993). "[Arteries to the pituitary]". Nippon Rinsho. 51 (10): 2550–4. PMID 8254920.

[2] Leng, Gareth (2018). The Heart of the Brain: The Hypothalamus and its Hormones. The gland in humans is described in Wikipedia as being the size of a pea. So common is this description that it seemed likely to be wrong, as I confirmed by examining a selection of peas. Wikipedia also gives the weight of the human pituitary as about half a gram, and in this it is more correct. The pituitary in a human is at least five times the average size of my peas; it is more like the size of a chickpea.

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