What is the pituitary gland?
1 Answer
The pituitary is considered an endocrine gland with a wide range of endocrine functions. These include, but are by no means an exhaustive list:
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It receives instructions from the hypothalamus, the 'headmaster' endocrine gland, located in the brain.
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From those instructions, the pituitary gland then releases various hormones through the bloodstream via nearby capillaries.
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Some hormones act on the gonads, such as follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone (found in both men and women);
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Other hormones act on the thyroid (thyroid stimulating hormone); the adrenal glands (adrenocorticotropic hormone); and on many different tissues (growth hormone, for example).
Often these pituitary hormones then 'signal' the effector organ or gland to do something else, or release a substance.
