Iodine in biology ring iodine atom, and also convert T3 to 3,3'-Diiodothyronine (T2) by removing an inner ring atom. Both of the latter products are inactivated hormones which have essentially no biological effects and are quickly prepared for disposal. A family of non-selenium-dependent enzymes then further deiodinates the products of these reactions. Selenium also plays a very important role in the production of glutathione, the body's most powerful antioxidant. During the production of the thyroid hormones, hydrogen peroxide is produced in large quantities, and therefore high iodine in the absence of selenium can destroy the thyroid gland (often described as a sore throat
Pituitary gland referred to the pituitary gland by only using the (Ancient Greek) name ἀδήν, "gland". He described the pituitary gland as part of a series of secretory organs for the excretion of nasal mucus. Anatomist Andreas Vesalius translated ἀδήν with "glans, in quam pituita destillat", "gland in which slime ("pituita") drips". Besides this 'descriptive' name, Vesalius used "glandula pituitaria", from which the English name "pituitary gland" is ultimately derived. The expression "glandula pituitaria" is still used as official synonym beside "hypophysis" in the official Latin nomenclature "Terminologia Anatomica". In the seventeenth century the supposed function of the pituitary gland to produce