Pituitary gland types of cells can be differentiated. The posterior lobe develops as an extension of the hypothalamus. The posterior pituitary hormones are synthesized by cell bodies in the hypothalamus. The magnocellular neurosecretory cells, of the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei located in the hypothalamus, project axons down the infundibulum to terminals in the posterior pituitary. This simple arrangement differs sharply from that of the adjacent anterior pituitary, which does not develop from the hypothalamus. The release of pituitary hormones by both the anterior and posterior lobes is under the control of the hypothalamus, albeit in different ways. The anterior pituitary synthesizes and
Pituitary adenoma presented above. Tumors which cause visual difficulty are likely to be a "macroadenoma" greater than 10 mm in diameter; tumors less than 10 mm are "microadenoma". The differential diagnosis includes pituitary tuberculoma, especially in developing countries and in immumocompromised patients. The diagnosis is confirmed by testing hormone levels, and by radiographic imaging of the pituitary (for example, by CT scan or MRI). Unlike tumors of the posterior Pituitary, Pituitary adenomas are classified as endocrine tumors (not brain tumors). Pituitary adenomas are classified based upon anatomical, histological and functional criteria. Pituitary incidentalomas are pituitary tumors that are characterized as an incidental