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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Dissection and Coronal Slice Preparation of Developing Mouse Pituitary Gland

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Published on: November 16, 2017

Current status of brain hypophysiotropic factors: morphologic aspects.

I Merchenthaler¹

¹Functional Morphology Section, Laboratory of Molecular and Integrative Neuroscience, NIEHS, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA.

Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism: TEM

|November 1, 1991

Summary

The median eminence contains nearly 40 chemical messengers, primarily peptides, originating from the hypothalamus and brainstem. These messengers act as neurohormones or neurotransmitters, influencing the brain and pituitary gland.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Endocrinology
Cell Biology

Background:

The median eminence is a critical neuroendocrine interface.
It receives signals from the hypothalamus and brainstem.
These signals regulate pituitary function and central nervous system activity.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify the origins of nerve terminals in the median eminence.
To understand the dual roles of hypophysiotropic factors as neurohormones and neurotransmitters.

Main Methods:

Retrograde tracing studies.
Immunocytochemistry.

Main Results:

Determined the origin of numerous nerve terminals in the median eminence.
Identified nearly 40 putative neurotransmitters and chemical messengers, mostly peptides.
Showed that these factors can act as neurohormones on the pituitary or neurotransmitters in the CNS.

Conclusions:

The median eminence integrates signals from diverse neuronal populations.
Hypophysiotropic factors have versatile functions depending on their release site.
This study elucidates the complex neurochemical landscape of the median eminence.