Problems of body structure and size of the hypophysis.
The size of the hypophysis, especially of the anterior lobe, is related to body size while the nervous lobe is related to the brain weight. The anterior lobe of the hypophysis in domestic animals is smaller than that of their ancestors in the wild. The proportions of the body, the distribution of bulk, as they appear in different races--whippets and bulldogs--are related to the size of the anterior lobe. Same body weight implies that the anterior lobe is nearly twice as large in animals with a compact body structure. These intraspecific results can also be shown interspecificly by comparing the species of African Bovidae. Independent of the influence of body size, the subfamilies Alcelaphinae and Hippotraginae possess a larger anterior lobe. A tendency can be shown for a relation to body structure as short-legged species living on marshy grounds (Kobus) or soft sands (Addax) have larger anterior lobes.
D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D001188:Artiodactyla / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D001699:Biometry; D001824:Body Constitution; D001835:Body Weight; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D002335:Carnivora / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008322:Mammals / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D009929:Organ Size; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013045:Species Specificity