HUMAN ADENOHYPOPHYSEAL QUANTITATIVE HISTOCHEMICAL CELL CLASSIFICATION .1. MORPHOLOGIC CRITERIA AND CELL TYPE DISTRIBUTION

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 103  (12) , 613-620
Abstract
Recent advances in immunocytochemistry and histochemical staining allow identification of pituitary cells that contain specific hormones by their appearance under light microscopy. Criteria for identification of functional cell classes were formulated from these studies. Fourteen hypophyses were obtained at the time of autopsy (4-22 h postmortem), embedded in paraffin, sectioned and differentially stained. Cell counts on areas in the acidophil wing and basophil wedge were performed using the formulated criteria. Chromophilic thyrotrophic hormone cells and melanocorticotrophic hormone cells occurred significantly more frequently in glands from men, whereas the numbers of other cell types were statistically comparable in glands from both sexes. Of 53,167 pituitary cells, 72.1% were functionally classified. Only 0.1% of presumptive secretory cells were completely chromophobic. Cell distribution patterns were similar to those previously described, with the exceptions that gonadotrophic cells were more prominent in the lateral wings and that prolactin cells had a more even distribution.