Human Anatomy Part 1 - K. A. Dyubenko, A. K. Kolomiytsev, Y. B. Chaykovsky 2002

Special Part
Splanchnology, splanchnologia [the study of viscera] — Development of the digestive and respiratory systems
Development of the hypophysis

The Pituitary Gland develops from two separate embryonic primordia that subsequently fuse. One of these, Rathke's pouch, originates as an evagination of the stomodeal depression, which is lined with ectoderm and located external to the buccopharyngeal (oral) membrane. This pouch gives rise to the adenohypophysis. The second primordium develops from the floor of the diencephalic infundibulum, which forms the neurohypophysis. Upon detachment, Rathke's pouch transforms into a vesicle. Its anterior wall undergoes intensive proliferation to form the parenchyma of the anterior pituitary lobe, whereas the posterior wall gives rise to the parenchyma of the intermediate lobe.

The cleft separating them represents the remnant of the cavity of Rathke's pouch; in the human embryo, this cleft eventually obliterates, allowing the anterior lobe to fuse with the intermediate lobe. The parenchyma of the posterior lobe (neurohypophysis) is formed from the neuroglia of the distal end of the diencephalic infundibulum. The proximally located PARTS OF THE infundibulum give rise to the pituitary stalk, which connects the pituitary gland to the Hypothalamus.



Last update: 08/08/2026

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