Pituitary-brain vascular relations: a new paradigm.
Vascular casts of the pituitary gland have demonstrated a paucity of veins extending from the adenohypophysis to the systemic circulation and have suggested that some adenohypophyseal venous blood returns to the neurohypophysis. The neurohypophyseal capillary bed may function as a vascular switch and in this article a series of 14 questions are proposed regarding the vascular dynamics of the pituitary. Together these questions raise the larger question, namely, whether pituitary hormones are transported directly to the brain to modify brain function?
D000818:Animals; D001163:Arteriovenous Anastomosis / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D002196:Capillaries / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D002415:Cats; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D004285:Dogs; D006801:Humans; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000098:blood supply; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000098:blood supply*; D010903:Pituitary Gland, Anterior / Q000098:blood supply; D051381:Rats; D013045:Species Specificity