MCDB 418 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Melanocortin 4 Receptor, Neurotrophin, Acromegaly

• School: U of M
• Department: Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
• Course: MCDB 418
• Professor: Cunming Duan

Document Summary

Hypothalamus: basal part of diencephalon forms walls and lower part of third ventricle. Median eminence: lower part of hypothalamus, rich with blood vessels. These vessels delivers releasing hormones produced by neurosecretory cells onto anterior pituitary. Pituitary: sits in a depression of the basisphenoid bone of the skull and is enclosed by a membrane. Pituitary is a composite of neural and epithelial tissue. 3 main parts of pituitary gland: neurohypophysis: (posterior lobe aka pars nervosa) neural tissue--modified axon terminals, adenohypophysis: (anterior lobe) epithelial polypeptide producing cells. Adenohypophysis is divided into 3 parts in most vertebrates: pars intermedia, pars tuberalis, pars distalis: infundibulum: stalk comprised of primarily neural tissue through which pituitary is anchored to brain. Adenohypophysis: there are vascular links between hypothalamus and anterior pituitary, which carries releasing hormones from hypothalamus to pituitary. Parvicellular neurosecretory cells hypophysiotropic hormones released stimulation/inhibition of anterior pituitary. Neurohypophysis: this is no direct vascular link between hypothalamus and posterior pituitary.