• 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 4  (4) , 335-341
Abstract
The overall anatomical distribution of specifically stained corticotropic cells was studied in pituitaries obtained at autopsy from 9 patients with Cushing''s disease. Three patterns were demonstrated consistent with the theory that it is not a single entity, but that some cases are of primary pituitary etiology; others are the result of hypothalamic or CNS dysfunction. The junctional corticotropic cells appear to react different from those in the anterior pituitary to some stimuli; these cells may represent the remnants of the pars intermedia in the human adult, and they may have some as yet unidentified physiological function.