Pituitary Body

Pituitary Body, a rounded body of the size of a small bean situated in the sella turecica in the sphenoid bone on the floor of the cavity of the skull. It contains small cavities lined by epithelium. It is not known to possess any function. It derives its name from its having been once supposed to secrete the fluid which is now known to be yielded by the Schneiderian or pituitary membrane of the nostrils (see NOSE). It is composed of two parts, the one a downgrowth from the floor of the third ventricle of the brain, the other an upgrowth from the pharynx, from which it has become completely separated. A disease called acromegaly is by some supposed to result from enlargement of this gland.