Adenohypophysis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. This endocrine structure at the base of the brain generates hormones essential for the regulation of several physiological processes
2. The anterior lobe of a certain gland plays a crucial role in the synthesis and release of hormones that influence growth, metabolism, and reproductive health
3. A glandular part at the front of the pituitary that produces important hormones regulating bodily functions

Etymology: The name of this gland is built from two Greek pieces. "Adḗn" meant "gland," and "hupóphusis" was a Greek word meaning "outgrowth" or "growth underneath," formed from "hupó" ("under") and "phúsis" ("growth," from "phúō," "to grow"). English borrowed the Greek word as "hypophysis," the name for the pituitary gland, which hangs beneath the brain like a growth on its underside. The Greek sense of "something that grows under" is the literal picture behind the anatomical term. Adenohypophysis is a compound of "adeno-," the Greek combining form for "gland," and "hypophysis." The prefix tells you which part of the pituitary is meant: the front lobe, the glandular section, as opposed to the neural section behind it. The word is a modern technical coinage built from classical roots, not a term that Greek anatomists ever used.

Synonyms: anterior pituitary