Summary
The monoamine containing structures of the human fetal hypothalamohypophyseal tract were studied histochemically by demonstrating the formaldehyde induced fluorescence. First specific fluorescence in the hypothalamus and median eminence was observed at the age of 15 weeks. A sparce network of fluorescent nerve fibres was found to line the walls of the ventricle. Weakly fluorescent cells were found within the stromal cell cords of the adenohypophysis at the age of 11 weeks. Both the number and the fluorescence intensity of these cells increased up to the age of 15 weeks. The apperance of the monoamines in the cytoplasm of the adenohypophyseal cells correlates well with the previous observations on the onset of the function of the fetal adenohypophysis. The lack of monoaminergic innervation of the hypothalamus and median eminence suggests that the hypothalamoadeno-hypophyseal neurohumoral regulation might not be functional during the first trimester of pregnancy.
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Partanen, S., Hervonen, A. Monoamine—Containing structures in the hypothalamo-hypophyseal system in the human fetus. Z. Anat. Entwickl. Gesch. 140, 53–60 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00520717
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00520717