PITUITARYGLAND

Pituitary gland

In vertebrate anatomy, the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea and weighing in humans. It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain, and rests in a small, bony cavity covered by a dural fold . The posterior pituitary gland is functionally connected to the hypothalamus by the median eminence via a small tube called the pituitary stalk, . The pituitary gland sits in the hypophysial fossa, situated in the sphenoid bone in the middle cranial fossa at the base of the brain. The pituitary gland secretes nine hormones that regulate homeostasis.

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pituitary gland

Noun

  1. An endocrine gland, about the size of a pea, that sits in a small, bony cavity at the base of the brain whose secretions control the other endocrine glands and influence growth, metabolism, and maturation.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: pituitary gland
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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