Posterior pituitary
Neurohypophysis (lobus posterior)
Endocrine & glandsGlandsHead
- What it is
- The rear quarter of the pituitary. It is not a gland in its own right but a bundle of nerve endings: axons of hypothalamic neurons run down the stalk and end here beside capillaries.
- Function
- Stores and releases oxytocin (uterine contraction, milk let-down) and vasopressin/ADH (water retention by the kidney), both made in the hypothalamus.
- Size
- About 4–6 mm across, ~20 % of the gland
- Clinical note
- Damage to the posterior lobe or stalk causes central diabetes insipidus — the kidneys cannot concentrate urine and the patient may pass 10–15 litres a day.