BSC 215 Lecture Notes - Lecture 38: Posterior Pituitary, Hypothalamus, Pituitary Gland

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The Hypothalamus and Pituitary Glands
The hypothalamus makes up the lower region of the diencephalon and lies just above the brain
stem. The pituitary gland (hypophysis) is attached to the bottom of the hypothalamus by a
slender stalk called the infundibulum. The pituitary gland consists of two major regions: the
anterior pituitary gland (anterior lobe or adenohypophysis) and the posterior pituitary gland
(posterior lobe or neurohypophysis).
The hypothalamus oversees many internal body conditions. It receives
nervous stimuli from receptors throughout the body and monitors chemical
and physical characteristics of the blood, including temperature; blood
pressure; and nutrient, hormone, and water content. When deviations from
homeostasis occur or when certain developmental changes are required, the
hypothalamus stimulates cellular activity in various parts of the body by
directing the release of hormones from the anterior and posterior pituitary
glands. The hypothalamus communicates directives with these glands by one
of the following two pathways:
• Communication between the hypothalamus and the anterior pituitary
occurs through chemicals (releasing hormones and inhibiting
hormones) that are produced by the hypothalamus and delivered to
the anterior pituitary through blood vessels in the infundibulum. The
releasing and inhibiting hormones are produced by specialized neurons
of the hypothalamus, called neurosecretory cells. The hormones are
released into a capillary network (primary plexus) and transported
through veins (hypophyseal portal veins) to a second capillary network
(secondary plexus) that supplies the anterior pituitary. The primary
plexus and the hypophyseal portal veins are in the infundibulum and
the secondary plexus is in the anterior pituitary. The hormones then
diffuse from the secondary plexus into the cells of the anterior
pituitary, where they initiate the production of specific hormones by
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Document Summary

The hypothalamus makes up the lower region of the diencephalon and lies just above the brain stem. The pituitary gland (hypophysis) is attached to the bottom of the hypothalamus by a slender stalk called the infundibulum. The pituitary gland consists of two major regions: the anterior pituitary gland (anterior lobe or adenohypophysis) and the posterior pituitary gland (posterior lobe or neurohypophysis). It receives nervous stimuli from receptors throughout the body and monitors chemical and physical characteristics of the blood, including temperature; blood pressure; and nutrient, hormone, and water content. When deviations from homeostasis occur or when certain developmental changes are required, the hypothalamus stimulates cellular activity in various parts of the body by directing the release of hormones from the anterior and posterior pituitary glands. The releasing and inhibiting hormones are produced by specialized neurons of the hypothalamus, called neurosecretory cells.

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