Hypophyses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Anatomical structures that serve as important glands in the endocrine system, particularly involved in secreting hormones
2. Part of the pituitary gland that plays a critical role in regulating various bodily functions
3. Referring to both the anterior and posterior lobes of a gland responsible for hormone production and release

Etymology: "Hypophyses" is simply the plural of "hypophysis", the Latinised form of an ancient Greek noun. In Greek, "hupóphusis" combined "hupó", meaning "under", with "phúsis", meaning growth or natural growth, so the literal sense was something like an attachment or growth underneath. The Greek word was a learned term, not something spoken in everyday life. English borrowed the term directly from Greek as a scientific label, and the plural follows the Greek pattern of ending in "-es". The structure is easy to see: "hypo-" is the familiar prefix for "below" in words like hypodermic, and "-physis" is the same Greek root that gives "physics" its origin in the idea of natural growth.

Synonyms: pituitary glands, pituitaries