Proportions of the Various Constituents of the Normal Adult Human Female Hypophysis. ∗

Abstract

This note on the weight of the normal adult human female hypophysis is based on serial sections of 43 non-pregnant women, 18 to 40 years old; 20 pregnant individuals, 15 to 40 years of age, and 27 older women, 50 to 81 years. The data were obtained from the absolute weight of the whole organ (after removal of the stalk close to the main body of the gland and therefore not including the stalk and pars tuberalis), and the relative weight of its parts obtained by projecting every 20th section on paper and then cutting out and weighing the areas.

The mean weight of the whole gland (less capsule, stalk and pars tuberalis) of young adult non-pregnant women is 620 mgm., with a minimum weight of 483 mgm. and a maximum weight of 971 mgm. This is 13% higher than the weight of the male hypophysis of similar age. Undoubtedly this is due to some of the females having been pregnant one or more times, since the literature indicates that the hypophysis of nullipara is essentially the same in weight as that of the male. Our figures are not directly comparable to those in the literature on account of having eliminated from our specimens all the surrounding connective tissue, which is an extremely variable quantity, having nothing to do with the essential constituents of the organ.

The hypophysis of pregnant individuals varies from 528 mgm. to 1111 mgm., the mean being 731 mgm., which is 18% greater than that of the non-pregnant group of the same age, and 17% greater than the hypophysis of old women. This enlargement is distinctly less than one would expect from the literature, probably due to a preponderance of early stages of pregnancy in our material.