How do the anterior pituitary cells communicate with the outside world and regulate one another?
1) Communication from the brain: Nerve cells in the hypothalamus (in specific nuclei) produce hormones that regulate each of the anterior pituitary cells. Most of the above cell types have a releasing hormone (named after the cell it stimulates) that is produced in a set of neurons and sent via an axon to the median eminence. There it is released into the pituitary portal blood. Some of the cells have an inhibitory hormone that also regulates secretion. These hormones are stored in granules in the axons until they are released. This is the neurovascular link we talked about earlier. The capillary network in the pituitary stalk provides a broad surface area for the secretion of these hormones. Some hormones may stimulate more than one pituitary cell. Some cells have more than one stimulating hormone. In that case, the axons may store these hormones together so that the cells receive maximal stimulation. 2) Communication from the target cells.. Target cells in the periphery may secrete h
