Summary
Whole pituitary glands were autotransplanted into the tail musculature of intact sticklebacks similar in size to the donors. The structure of the grafted pituitaries and of the in situ glands in the recipient and sham-operated fish was examined. The prolactin-secreting cells, thyrotrophs and possibly the gonadotrophs showed signs of being under inhibitory hypothalamic control whereas the somatotrophs appeared to be more autonomous of hypothalamic influence. The pars intermedia and corticotrophs appeared to be dependent upon the hypothalamus for maintenance of functional acitvity.
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I am indebted to Drs. W. S. Hoar and T. J. Lam for their help during the period of this investigation and to Mr. L. Sharman for his technical assistance.
The work was supported by a grant in aid of research from the National Research Council of Canada to Dr. W. S. Hoar.
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Leatherland, J.F. Histological investigation of pituitary homotransplants in the marine form (trachurus) of the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L.. Z.Zellforsch. 104, 337–344 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00335686
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00335686