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Innervation of the mammalian anterior pituitary: A mini review
Author(s) -
Ju Gong
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
microscopy research and technique
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1097-0029
pISSN - 1059-910X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0029(19971015)39:2<131::aid-jemt4>3.0.co;2-o
Subject(s) - anterior pituitary , hypothalamus , nerve cells , pituitary gland , biology , anatomy , stimulation , neuroscience , hormone , endocrinology , microbiology and biotechnology
The mammalian anterior pituitary was not known to be innervated other than by a few autonomic nerve fibers. Recent studies, however, have demonstrated otherwise. A hypothesis of neural‐humoral dual regulation of the mammalian anterior pituitary has been postulated based on the following findings: (1) the presence of substantial amounts of nerve fibers in the anterior pituitary of a number of mammalian species; (2) close contact of the nerve fibers with the gland cells, even forming synapses; (3) the nerve fibers originate, as least partly, from the hypothalamus; (4) the nerve fibers respond actively to changes in hormonal levels of the organism; and (5) stimulation of the nerve fibers changes the secretory activities of the gland cells. Microsc. Res. Tech. 39:131–137, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.