DEVELOPMENT

OF
ENDOCRINE
SYSTEM
 PITUITARY
GLAND
Chronological
Begins toage:
riseMiddle of
3th week of IUL

Germ layer: Surface Adenohypophysis

Ectoderm (anterior)
Neuro

Neurohypophysis

Site:
A) Stomodeum = future mouth
 PITUITARY
Sources:GLAND
A) Surface ectoderm part (Rathke’s pouch)

- Pars Distalis
- Pars Tuberalis
- Pars Intermedia

B) Neuro ectoderm part (Hypopyseal stalk)

- Infudibulum
- Pars Posterior (Neurohypophysis)
- Median eminance
Adenohypophysis
Walls of Rathke’s pouch
a) Anterior wall proliferates
extensively to form pars
anterior.
b) Posterior wall remains thin and
forms pars intermedia
c) Cleft of pouch persist
hypophyseal cleft.

Small extension of pars

anterior grows upward to form
pars tuberalis.
 Neurohypophysis

 Is an evagination of neurectoderm of
hypothalamus/floor of third ventricle.
 Ectodermal pouch from the roof of
stomodeum fuse with each other to form
hypophysis cerebri.
PITUITARY
GLAND
 Possible congenital
•
anomalies
Ectopic posterior pituitary
• Pharyngeal hypophysis

• Agenesis/Hypogenesis of pituitary
gland
• Duplication of pituitary gland

• Congenital tumor of the

gland (Craniopharyngioma)
 1) Ectopic posterior
pituitary
 Absent normal posterior pituitary
Bright spot within the sella with ectopic bright signal at
another site on a weighted magnetic resonance (MRI).
Development:
Incomplete caudal extension of the diencephalon during
embryogenesis
Effect:
 panhypopituitarism (low pituitary hormones secretion)
 Pituitary dwarfism caused by Lack of growth hormone
 2) Pharyngeal hypophysis
• Ectopic pituitary tissue is found attached to the roof
of the mouth/pharynx.
• It is caused by failure of separation of Rathke's
pouch from the roof of the mouth.

Pharyngeal
hypophysis
 3) Agenesis/
Hypogenesis of pituitary gland

• Absence of the gland is

incompatible with life.
• panhypopituitarism
 4) Duplication of pituitary gland
Development:
-Fewer (40 cases since 1880)
-A rare craniofacial developmental
anomaly occurring during blastogenesis.
• *Several mechanisms have been proposed
for DPG:
– partial twinning.
– prenatal teratogen exposure.
– extreme presentation of the median cleft face
syndrome.
– Early splitting of the notochord during
blastogenesis.
 5) Congenital tumor of the gland
(Craniopharyngioma)
Development:
A tumor arises from a remnant
of Rathke's pouch.
Effect:
• Increasing
intracranial
pressure;
hydrocephalus
• Disrupting the
function of the
pituitary gland
• Damaging the
 PINEAL
Small diverticulum GLAND
arising from the
roof of the diencephalon
Pineal gland is made up of
modified neuroglial cells called
pinealocytes.
Process of development:
Diverticulum form

Initially hollow mass

Later, becomes solid structure

 PINEAL GLAND

• The growth of the pineal is

biphasic.
• The ontogenic-proliferative
phase:
proliferation of the pineal
parenchyma cells.
• The hypertrophic-
differentiation phase:
includes the volume
increment increment of the
pinealoblasts and differentiation
into pinealocytes;
this occurs at around 118 days.
ADRENAL
GLANDS
ADRENAL
GLANDS
DEVELOPMENT
THYROID GLAND
 THYROID GLAND
Chronological age:
3th week of IUL (1st endocrine organ to develop)
Germ layer:
Endodermal diverticulum (Thyroglossal duct)
Site:
Floor of the pharynx [below & behind the
tuberculum impar of developing
tongue]
Sources:
Median thyroid diverticulum
GLANDULAR TISSUE:
Thyroid gland compose of
A) Follicular cells  Endodermal origin
B) Para follicular cells  Ultimo
branchial body
Fate of thyroglossal duct:
Degenerate.

Anomalies:

1) Lingual thyroid
2) Thyroglossal cyst
3) Retro sternal
thyroid
Parathyroid glands
 Parathyroid glands

Development:
By the sixth week
The fourth pharyngeal pouch give rise to superior
parathyroid gland,
The third pharyngeal pouch give rise to inferior
parathyroid gland.
Abnormalities:
DiGeorge syndrome—thymic, parathyroid, cardiac
defects
A 36-year-old woman comes to her physician
complaining of heart palpitations, weight loss, anxiety,
insomnia, fatigue, and amenorrhea. The physician
palpates a 1.5-cm mass on her neck, which elevates
when she swallows, located inferior to the cricoid
cartilage yet off the midline. What is the most likely
structure involved with her presentation?
(A)Enlarged deep cervical lymph node
(B)Thyroid nodule.
(C)Benign parathyroid adenoma
(D)Thyroglossal duct cyst