Maturation of Human Hypothalamic Neurosecretion

Abstract

Maturation of human hypothalamic neurosecretion was studied in material taken from 24 fetuses and 4 infants. The neurosecretory material (N. S. M.) was stained by both the aldehyde-fuchsin (AF) and chrome-alum-haematoxylin (CAH) technique. The volume of the cell nucleus of the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei grew fairly linearly during fetal development. The mean nucleus size was of the same magnitude in both nuclei. AF-stained N. S. M. was elicited for the 1st time in both the hypothalamic neurosecretory nuclei, the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial tract and the infundibular process in a fetus 16 cm in CH length (16 weeks). N. S. M. stained by CAH for the first time in the infundibular process in fetuses 20 cm in crown-heel (CH) length (18 weeks) and in the other parts of the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system in fetuses 28 cm in CH length (23 weeks). As fetus development progressed, the N. S. M. content increased gradually in the different parts of the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system.