Pituitary body

“ When it occurs in childhood it produces a very unusual kind of human being—a pituitary giant. A pituitary giant is robust and virile-looking enough in outer aspect but his amorous impulses are extremely sluggish and in some cases completely absent.
"In this subject we have not only increased the activity of the pituitary gland, we have used many other surgical and glandular injection techniques to alter the functioning of virtually every gland in his body. ”

“ The pituitary body is in fact an organ derived from the epiblast of the stomodæum. This fact has been demonstrated for Mammalia, Aves, Amphibia and Elasmobranchii, and may be accepted as holding good for all the Craniata [166] . The epiblast in the angle formed by the cranial flexure becomes involuted to form the cavity of the mouth. This cavity is bordered on its posterior surface by the front wall of the alimentary tract, and on its anterior by the base of the fore-brain. ”

“ The part of the infundibulum which lies at the hinder end of the pituitary body is at first a simple finger-like process of the brain (fig. 255 inf) , but its end becomes swollen, and the lumen in this part becomes obliterated. Its cells, originally similar to those of the other parts of the nervous system and even (Kölliker) containing differentiated nerve-fibres, partly atrophy, and partly assume an indifferent form, while at the same time [Pg 437] there grow in amongst them numerous vascular and connective-tissue elements. ”

“ No less powerful than that of the thyroid is the influence of the pituitary body upon the skeleton, especially upon the hands, feet, and skull. And if we wish to demonstrate how much the ductless glands influence the looks of a person, it is sufficient to point out the great changes that take place in the face of a patient with acromegaly. ”

“ The thyroid bears more directly upon the inner and outer coverings of the body, the skin, the skin glands and the hair, the mucous membranes, and the irritability and the preparedness for response of the nerves. The pituitary acts more upon the framework of the body, the skeleton and the mechanical supports and movers. Bone and ligament, muscle and tendon seem to be within its immediate sway. The secretion or secretions of the pituitary diffuse directly into the fluid bathing the nervous system, supplying beneficent stimulants and aiding in the abstraction of harmful waste. ”

“ It may be identified with the infundibulum, pituitary body, and ‘cella turcica’. The term ‘pituitary’ which we still use is derived from its supposed association with the ‘pituita’ or phlegm. At an early date this process was connected with the four humours (Fig. 14) . The rest of the description of the brain can be easily followed. The comparison of the choroid plexus to a worm is very common. The suggestion originated with Galen and was developed by the Arabians.
Comparative Table of Ancient and Modern Nomenclature of Cranial Nerves. ”

“ It is believed by some that the pituitary body actually destroys certain substances which have a toxic influence on the nervous system; others believe that it secretes material media for the proper action of the trophic or nutritive apparatus ”

“ The uric acid or gouty states, for example, are, as Fothergill long ago pointed out, assumptions by mammalian organs of the functions of those of birds and reptiles. In conditions like myxœdema the skin, through thyroid gland disturbances, takes on features which resemble in result those found in certain mollusks and low fish. These nutritive disturbances may show themselves in disorders of the pituitary body (acromegaly, giantism, &c.) , whereby the bony system of man reverts to conditions like those of the gorilla. ”

“ It is more frequent in the female sex, between the ages of 25 and 40. Its causation is generally associated with disturbances in the pituitary gland, and an extract of this body has been tried in the treatment, as one of the recent developments in organo-therapeutics ”

“ I asked.
"Located in one of the best protected and most inaccessible parts of the body," Kennedy considered, slowly, "how could the pituitary be reached? If you will study my skiagraph, you will see how I got my first clue. There was something over that spot which caused the refractory sore. ”

“ And induced hypopituitarism—under activity of the gland—produces a result just like natural hibernation. Hibernation has nothing to do with winter, or with food, primarily; it is connected in some way with this little gland under the forehead.
"As the pituitary secretion is lessened, the blocking action of the fatigue products in the body be-comes greater and morbid somnolence sets in. There is a high tolerance of carbohydrates which are promptly stored as fat. I am surprised, Doctor Haynes, that you did not recognize the symptoms."
A murmur from Mrs. Blakeley cut short Doctor Haynes's reply. ”

“ As in chemistry and physics, so in the science of living creatures there have been recent advances that have changed the whole prospect. A good instance is afforded by the discovery of the "hormones," or chemical messengers, which are produced by ductless glands, such as the thyroid, the supra-renal, and the pituitary, and are distributed throughout the body by the blood. ”

“ But if some endocrine proves recalcitrant, and takes advantage of the situation to make itself dominant, trouble and maladjustment, and their psychic echoes, come. Anterior pituitary control will mean a relative masculinization, with hair on the face and aggressive attitudes. Post-pituitary most often refuses to settle down, and expressing its ambition as headaches, flushes, obesity and hysteria, may cause extreme misery and unhappiness to its possessor. ”

“ Our variously acquired bits of information concerning the ductless glands lie before us like the fragments of a modern picture puzzle. And so, I may tell you, in connection with recent experimental studies of the role of the pituitary, Doctor Cushing and other collaborators at Johns Hopkins have noticed a marked tendency to pass into a profoundly lethargic state when the secretion of the pituitary is totally or nearly so removed."
Kennedy now had every eye riveted on him as he deftly led the subject straight to the case of the poor girl before us. ”

“ The physiognomy and physique of the pituito-centric were discovered in them. The phenomena noted in Napoleon's case were often present: lowering of the pulse, chilliness, and an increased irritability of the bladder. In women the attack often coincides with the menstrual period, a typical time of endocrine unbalance. Finally X-ray examinations of the sella turcica, the bony lodging of the pituitary, clinched the matter: it often appeared small, or enlarged, with erosions of the bone, signifying a desperate attempt of the gland to grow, and meet the needs of the organism. ”

“ The masculine pituitary type is one determined by the rule of the anterior pituitary, representing superlative brain tone and action, good all-around growth and harmonious general function, the ideal masculine organism. The feminine pituitary type has an excess of post-pituitary, with susceptibility to the tender emotions, sentimentalism, and emotionalism, feminine structural lines. ”

“ That is the emphasized fact that the pituitary is encased in a small bony box, at the base of the skull. The size of this bony box, and its capacity to yield to the various pressures of a pituitary enlarging to meet the demands of the organism, will often spell happiness or misery, success or failure, genius or idiocy for the man or woman. ”

“ Thus we may have ante-pituitary sufficiency with post-pituitary insufficiency, or ante-pituitary insufficiency with post-pituitary sufficiency, complexes which contribute to create the grosser functional hermaphrodite types of mixed sex.
In the average feminine pituitary type of personality, post-pituitary dominates. In a woman and to a lesser degree in a man, the general build is slight and rather delicate. ”

“ The pituitary has a strong influence on sexual activities. Young animals whose pituitary has been surgically damaged will not be able to reproduce themselves when reaching adulthood. Feeding pituitary glands to hens on the other hand, causes them to lay thirty per cent more eggs than they would naturally. ”

“ There are people with hyper-pituitarism who exhibit the highest mental powers. In them is an increased activity of the posterior lobe in association with enlargement and hyperfunction of the anterior, overgrowth is not so marked, and the individual is lean and mentally acute. But the ordinary giant is one in whom there is degeneration of the pituitary after too much action of the anterior and too little of the posterior glands. A tumor or disease process in the gland is most often responsible. ”

“ The determination of endocrine type and tendencies, the prediction of the future personality, during childhood is one of the developments confidently to be looked for, as our knowledge of the internal secretions will grow. The possibilities of control loom as one of the most magnificent promises of science. Yet the high expectations for tomorrow should not depress our respect for the achievements of today. In the case of the pituitary, for instance, a hint as to the method of approach is furnished by the tabulation of the traits of pituitary dominance and pituitary inferiority in children. ”

“ Thus thymus-centered types frequently marry. The ante-pituitary type of male, the strongly masculine, mates often with the post-pituitary type of female, the markedly feminine. The children exhibit the lineaments of the pituitary-centered type. The general trend seems to be the establishment of a better balanced, equilibrated type. Yet the children often are apt to segregate into pituitary dominants or pituitary deficients. Happiness and unhappiness in marriage should be examined from the standpoint of endocrine compatibility or incompatibility. ”

“ The other that it is higher in the female sex than in the male. We have seen that the philosophic, scientific, intellectual mind, the capacity to abstract, and think in terms of abstractions, is definitely dependent upon proper secretion by the ante-pituitary. In woman, the post-pituitary is generally predominant over the ante-pituitary. Though we are in need of a series of studies of the endocrine traits and composition of men endowed with high imaginative qualities, and so are at a loss, we have indications of an endocrine control of the state of consciousness we speak of as the imaginative. ”

“ In both the semi-hibernators who remind one of cattle, and in the giant or acromegalic types who remind one of the anthropoid ape, there develops a distinct diminution of sexual life. An abnormal process in the anterior gland, whether of oversecretion or of undersecretion, may interfere with the proper functioning of the posterior gland, the secretion of which is tonic not only to the brain cells, but also to the sex cells. Thus, young animals deprived of the pituitary will not, if male, grow spermatozoa, nor ripe ova in the female. Moreover, the feeding of pituitary increases sexual activity. ”

“ THE BONY CRADLE OF THE PITUITARY Always, in attempting to understand the pituitary, it is necessary to remember that it is tightly packed in the bony cradle, the Turkish Saddle or Sella Turcica. Should some stimulus, local, or in the blood, arouse the gland to growth, a good deal will depend upon whether it has room to grow in, or it will make room by eroding the bone. ”

“ Sixty per cent of these individuals showed deviation from the normal in size, fifty-one per cent were undersized and nine per cent were above the average height, while thirty-eight per cent were normal. The pituitary was found to be involved in forty per cent of the one hundred cases, the thyroid in nineteen per cent, the suprarenal in twenty-seven per cent, the sex glands in thirty-eight per cent, the thymus in twelve per cent and other glands in six per cent. ”

“ In the human being it would appear that the symptoms resulting from the development of pituitary tumour formation may be classified into two groups, those of hyper-pituitarism and those of hypo-pituitarism. ”

“ The thyroid, for instance, is concerned specially with the regulation of the shape, form and finish of an organ. The pituitary shines at the periods of developmental crises, determining them and modifying them. It exerts the greatest influence upon the time of eruption of the teeth, both the temporary and the permanent, the onset of puberty, the recurrence of menstruation in women, and the time of occurrence of labor. The interstitial glands distribute the basis of the powers and limitations of masculinity and femininity. ”

“ Two most important instincts, therefore, which in the complexity of their sublimations have created most of the institutions of society, the maternal and the intellectual, are connected directly with a proper function of the pituitary endocrines. So it happens that disturbances of these instincts, reaching far into the normal and intellectual spheres of the mind, are definitely connected with disturbances of the pituitary. ”

“ Let one be disturbed, and all the others will feel the impact of the disturbance and vibrate with it.
Any break in the somatic or psychic equilibrium, a blow or an infection, or a startling thing seen, or a worrisome thought felt, will start a process going. This will only wind up when every gland has been somehow touched, and a final equilibrium reestablished. The thyroid, maybe, was first excited, and then in turn the adrenals, with a boomerang reinforcing effect upon the thyroid, and at the same time a stimulating effect upon the pituitary. ”