It is only the size of a pea and weighs less than a gram. Yet it controls the entire hormone system in humans. If it gets out of whack, many diseases can result.
Two lobes with different functions
Like a teardrop, the pituitary gland, also known as the pituitary gland, hangs from the hypothalamus, an area of the brain. There, it lies in a bony depression just above the base of the skull called the saddle of Turks. It consists of two halves, the posterior and anterior pituitary lobes, which function independently of each other.
The posterior pituitary is a storage organ. The hormones adiuretin (formerly also called vasopressin) and oxytocin, which are produced in the hypothalamus, are temporarily stored there and released when needed. Adiuretin plays an important role in regulating the body’s water balance. Oxytocin triggers labor during pregnancy, and ensures the infusion of breast milk during lactation.
A variety of hormones are produced in the anterior pituitary. For this purpose, the superordinate hypothalamus releases “control hormones“, which the pituitary stimulates to produce its own messenger substances, or inhibits their formation. Among other things, the pituitary gland produces hormones that affect the thyroid and adrenal glands, influence skin pigmentation, and are responsible for the formation of estrogen, maturation of the ovaries, and sperm development.
Functional unit hypothalamus – pituitary gland.
The hormonal and nervous systems of humans are very complex and closely interconnected.
