 Anterior pituitary

The anterior pituitary is the glandular part of the pituitary gland, containing biological cells that synthesize and release hormones. Signals from the hypothalamus reach it through the hypophyseal portal system: blood passes through one network of capillaries, carries releasing or inhibiting hormones down connecting blood vessels, and enters a second network beside the hormone-secreting biological cells. This provides a direct chemical route for control by the brain.^[ref]

Its products include growth hormone, prolactin and thyroid-stimulating hormone. For example, prolactin promotes milk production, whereas oxytocin released by the posterior pituitary promotes milk ejection. Making milk and moving it outward are distinct controlled processes. Similarly, thyroid-stimulating hormone stimulates release of thyroid hormones, which participate in negative feedback on the control pathway. The anterior pituitary therefore both produces hormones and relays upstream signals; it is not simply a storage site for hormones made in the hypothalamus.^[ref]