DISTRIBUTION OF ADRENOCORTICOTROPHIC HORMONE IN THE PITUITARY GLAND

Abstract

The highly vascular, anteromedial zone of hog and beef pituitary glands, which is rich in basophilic cells, contains a concentration of ACTH from 4 to 13 times that found in the rest of the adenohypophysis. The concentration of ACTH can be correlated (T = 0.96) with the relative proportion of basophilic cells, supporting the view that the pituitary basophiles are the source of ACTH. The distribution of both basophiles and ACTH in the rat adenohypophysis is more uniform than in hog or beef glands. The posterior lobe of all species examined (rat, hog, beef, and man) contains small, but significant, amounts of ACTH.