The pituitary gland of the coelacanth fish Latimeria chalumnae Smith: general structure and adenohypophysial cell types.
The pituitary gland of Latimeria chalumnae is situated rostroventral to the telencephalon. The hollow pituitary stalk is bent forward and is ventrally connected to a saccus-vasculosus-like organ, rostrally to a neurointermediate lobe. The infundibular lumen protrudes far into the neurohypophysial lobules. The elongated principal part (pars cerebralis) of the pars distalis is partly embedded in a dorsal depression of the pars intermedia and caudally invaded by the neurohypophysis. It may be divided into rostral and proximal pars distalis and includes a ramified hypophysial cleft, which continues rostrally as a duct with adjacent islets of pars distalis tissue (parts of a pars buccalis). The adenohypophysis consists of cell cords and follicles. Eight tinctorial cell types can be distinguished: in the rostral islets: large basophils with acidophil globules, in the rostral pars distalis: small basophils, large basophils with amphiphil characters and erythrosin-, orange G-positive acidophils; in the proximal pars distalis: orange G-positive acidophils and small and large basophils, having similar staining properties; in the pars intermedia: one amphiphil cell type.
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002479:Inclusion Bodies; D010802:Phylogeny; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000166:cytology; D010903:Pituitary Gland, Anterior / Q000166:cytology; D010904:Pituitary Gland, Posterior / Q000166:cytology