Endocrine I - Pituitary and Pineal Glands Flashcards
How are endocrine signals transported throughout the body?
Blood and body fluids
Which bone is the pituitary located within?
Sphenoid bone
Which tissues are the pituitary derived from?
Oral cavity tissues and neural tissue
What is another common name for the anterior pituitary?
Pars distalis
What is another common name for the posterior pituitary?
Pars nervosa
Which germ layer is the pars distalis derived from?
Oral ectoderm
Name the three cell morphologies found in the pars distalis.
- Acidophils
- Basophils
- Chromophobes
Name two pars distalis cell types that are acidophils.
Somatotropes and lactotropes/mammotropes.
What do somatotropes do? How common are they? What stimulates them and what inhibits them?
Secrete GH. Account for 50% of pars distalis cells. Stimulated by GHRH and inhibited by somatostatin.
What do lactotropes/mammotropes do? How common are they? What stimulates them?
Secrete prolactin, account for 15% of pars distalis cells but increase in number during pregnancy. Stimulated by thyroid releasing hormone (TRH) and vasoactive intestinal peptide.
What do thyrotrophs do? How common are they? What stimulates them?
Secrete TSH, which in turn stimulates the thyroid gland to secrete T3 and T4. They make up 5% of paris distalis cells. Stimulated by TRH.
What do gonadotrophs do? How common are they? What stimulates them?
Secrete FSH, LH. Make up less than 10% of paris distalis cells. Controlled by GnRH and LHRH.
What do corticotrophs do? What stimulates them?
Secrete ACTH, stimulated by CRH.
What do folliculostellate cells do?
They form an intrercellular network between endocrine cells of the pituitary with numerous gap junctions to coordinate distalis cells and perform phagocytic, neuro and immune regulation.
What germ layer is the pars nervosa derived from?
Neural tissue