Pars intermedia

Median sagittal through the hypophysis of an adult monkey. (Pars intermedia labeled at bottom center.)

Details
Identifiers
Latin| pars intermedia adenohypophyseos
Anatomical terminology

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Pars intermedia is seen between pars distalis and pars nervosa.

Pars intermedia is the boundary between the anterior and posterior lobes of the pituitary. It contains colloid-filled cysts and two types of cells - basophils and chromophobes. The cysts are the remainder of Rathke’s pouch. As technically part of the anterior pituitary, it separates the posterior pituitary and pars distalis. It is composed of large, pale cells that encompass the aforementioned colloid-filled follicles.[1]

In human fetal life, this area produces melanocyte stimulating hormone or MSH which causes the release of melanin pigment in skin melanocytes (pigment cells). However, the pars intermedia is normally either very small or entirely absent in adulthood.

In lower vertebrates (fish, amphibians) MSH from the pars intermedia is responsible for darkening of the skin, often in response to changes in background color. This color change is due to MSH stimulating the dispersion of melanin pigment in dermal (skin) melanophore cells.

## References

1. ↑ Ilahi, Sadia; Ilahi, Tahir B. (3 October 2022). "Anatomy, Adenohypophysis (Pars Anterior, Anterior Pituitary)". Anatomy, Adenohypophysis (Pars Anterior, Anterior Pituitary). StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519039/. Retrieved 9 February 2023.

## External links

* Histology image: 14001loa – Histology Learning System at Boston University
* Histology image: 14101loa – Histology Learning System at Boston University
* Histology image: 38_11 at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
* UIUC Histology Subject 991

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Anatomy of the endocrine system

Pituitary gland|

| Anterior|

* Pars intermedia
* Pars tuberalis
* Pars distalis
* Acidophil cell
* Somatotropic cell
* Prolactin cell
* Somatomammotrophic cell
* Basophil cell
* Corticotropic cell
* Gonadotropic cell
* Thyrotropic cell
* Chromophobe cell

|

Posterior|

* Pars nervosa
* Median eminence
* Stalk
* Pituicyte
* Herring bodies

Thyroid|

* Follicular cell
* Parafollicular cell

Parathyroid gland|

* Chief cell
* Oxyphil cell

Adrenal gland|

| Cortex|

* Zona glomerulosa
* Zona fasciculata
* Zona reticularis

|

Medulla|

* Chromaffin cell

Gonads|

* Testicle
* Leydig cell
* Sertoli cell
* Ovary
* Theca interna
* Granulosa cell
* Corpus luteum

Islets of pancreas|

* Alpha cell
* Beta cell
* PP cell
* Delta cell
* Epsilon cell

Pineal gland|

* Pinealocyte
* Corpora arenacea

Other|

* Enteroendocrine cell
* Paraganglia
* Organ of Zuckerkandl
* Placenta
* Development
* List of human endocrine organs and actions

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