Pituitary gland

The pituitary gland or hypophysis (cerebri) (Greek: υπόφυση ipófissi, "the plant attached below", Latin: glandula pituitaria) is a hormone gland and plays a superordinate role in the entire hormone system. In particular, it regulates processes such as reproduction, growth and metabolism. The pituitary gland is located in the middle of the head at nose level on the bony part of the skull base known as the sella turcica and is divided into the anterior pituitary lobe, the so-called adenohypophysis, which has developed from the so-called Rathke's pouch of the oral cavity. It is divided into the anterior pituitary gland, the so-called adenohypophysis, which has evolved from the so-called Rathke's pouch of the oral cavity and is therefore not a part of the brain, and the posterior pituitary gland, also known as the neurohypophysis, which is connected to the hypothalamus of the brain by the pituitary stalk (infundibulum). In the α-cells of the anterior pituitary, the growth hormone somatropin is produced during sleep, most during puberty.