Dr.

Chiaia has posted his lab powerpoint on

the academic intranet - some are
incorporated here.
 Pituitary, Human – UW 095
A. The pituitary gland is divided into 2
portions based on embryological
development:
1. adenohypophysis (anterior)
2. neurohypophysis (posterior)
B. Morphologically, the pituitary may
be divided into 4 parts:
1. pars distalis
2. pars intermedia
3. parts tuberalis
4. pars nervosa
NOTE: The adenohypophysis
consists of the (i) pars tuberalis, (ii) Posterior
pars distalis, (iii) pars intermedia. The Anterior
adenohypophysis comes from oral
ectoderm – Rathke’s pouch. (large, darker-
The neurohypophysis consists of the staining)
(i) pars nervosa, (ii) infundibular stalk,
and (iii) median eminence. The
neurohypohysis comes from
neuroectocerm.
 Infundibular stalk – connects
pituitary gland to hypothalmus
(NOTE: cannot see median
eminence in this slide)

Pars tuberalis – darker staining cells that wrap

around the stalk

Pars nervosa – forms

posterior portion of the
main mass of the gland Pars distalis – makes up most
of anterior part of
adenohypophysis
NOTE: White spaces here are
sinusoids

Pars intermedia
-lies between pars distalis and pars
nervosa
 Pituitary, H&E - MCW091

Pars tuberalis

Pars distalis

Infundibular stalk

Pars nervosa

Pars intermedia
 Pituitary, H&E – MCW091 Acidophils, a.k.a. alpha cells (40%)
-large with reddish staining cytoplasm
-secrete GH, prolactin -p. 83

Basophils, a.k.a.
beta cells (10%)
Chromophobes,
-slightly larger cells a.k.a.
with bluish staining undifferentiated C
granules cells (50%)
-some basophils -smaller cells that
produce TSH while have a small
others produce FSH amount of poorly
and LH staining cytoplasm
-these cells are
thought to be
degranulated
NOTE: chromophils (includes chromophil cells
acidophils and basophils) and
chromophobes are best located in
the pars distalis RBCs
Pituitary, Human - UW095

Cords of cells interspersed with sinusoids

sinusoids in pars distalis
 Chromophobe
– does not pick
up stain

RBCs

chromophil
 Colloid-filled Rathke’s cysts –
diagnostic for pars intermedia

anterior

posterior
posterior

anterior

Colloid-filled Rathke’s cysts

in pars intermedia

MCW 091
Neurosecretory cell axons – release
neural hormones into capillary bed
Nuclei of pituicytes
-pituicytes are supportive cells
(glial) of the axons
The neurohypophysis
consists of the a) pituicytes,
and b) terminal axons of
the neurosecretory cells. –
p. 83
The cell bodies of the
neurosecretory cells lie within
the supraoptic and
paraventricular nuclei of the
hypothalmus. The axons
carry the hormones to the
pars nervosa.
-Neurosecretory material
consists of the carrier protein
neurophysin
-Oxytocin comes from the
paraventricular nucleus
-Vasopressin is from the
supraoptic nucleus
UW 095
HERRING BODIES
PITUICYTES

Herring bodies are dense

aggregations of vesicle-bound
hormones at the axon
terminals
UW 095

Nuceli of pituicytes

Axons of
neurosecretory cells
 Pineal gland (a.k.a. Epiphysis Cerebri) of Older Human-
MCO 0099

Concretions called corpora aranacea, a.k.a.

NOTE: cannot distinguish pinealocytes
from glial cells at LM; won’t be asked to
distinguish
“brain sand” – increases as you age
-contain calcium and carbonate salts
-Before the advent of CT scans and MRIs,
“brain sand” was a diagnostic tool of brain
tumors -p. 84
MCO 0099

PINEAL GLAND

- PINEALOCYTE
- GLIAL CELLS
- BRAIN SAND
MCO 0699

PINEAL GLAND

- PINEALOCYTE
- GLIAL CELLS
- BRAIN SAND
LH 0195

UW 093

THYROID GLAND

MCW 095
Thyroid - 095
The functional unit of the thyroid gland is the follicle.
follicle = colloid + surrounding follicular (epithelial) cells

colloid
Inactive thyroid gland Active thyroid gland
-squamous follicular cells -cuboidal to columnar follicular cells
(may have scalloped appearance)
CT tissue and
capillary network in
thyroid gland
Parafollicular cells, a.k.a. C-cells
-located in CT between follicles or adjacent to follicular cells within follicles
-cells are slightly larger than follicular cells and have a lighter-staining cytoplasm
-They secrete calcitonin which lowers calcium levels in blood
p. 85
PARAFOLLICULAR “C” CELLS
 PARATHYROID

- CHIEF CELLS
- OXYPHILS
MCO 0095
 The parenchyma of the parathyroid gland is composed of two cell types: a) principal
cells, a.k.a. chief cells, and b) oxyphil cells.
b) Principal cells are smaller in size and more numerous
c) Oxyphil cells are larger in size, scattered singly (or in small clusters), and have
acidophilic cytoplasm due to numerous mitochondria. The nuclei are also smaller
and more condensed than chief cells
-p. 85

Oxyphil cells – diagnostic Chief cells - majority

of parathyroid gland
CHIEF CELLS OXYPHILS

MCW 095
 Adrenal - 090

cortex

medulla
 3 Zones of the adrenal cortex
b) Zona glomerulosa (adjacent to
capsule)
-recognized as cords of small
columnar cells forming arches
-secrete mineralocorticoids (e.g.
aldosterone)
e) Zona fasciculata
Zona glomerulosa
-has parallel columns or cords of
columnar cells
-secretes glucocorticoids (e.g.
cortisol)
c) Zona reticularis (adjacent to medulla)
Zona fasciculata
-has interconnecting, irregular
cords
-secretes both glucocorticoids and
sex hormones (androgen and
estrogen)
p. 86

Zona reticularis

Medulla
Adrenal medulla – composed of large, round, epithelioid cells
(chromaffin cells) arranged in cords
-these cells have epinephrine and norepinephrine in
cytoplasmic granules -p. 86

Part of cortex

Medulla
MCO 0097

M
C
(Adrenal gland -
Silver stain)

M
F

R
G
 Pancreas – MCO 0086

Acinar cells

cells of Islets of Langerhans

NOTE: alpha, beta, and delta cells require special staining and
cannot be distinguished in these slides
MCW 082

Acinar cells

Islet cells