Pituitary Disorders | MedlinePlus

Pituitary Disorders | MedlinePlus

Pituitary Disorders

MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

• ACTH (cosyntropin) stimulation test
• ACTH blood test
• Antidiuretic hormone blood test
• Cortisol level
• Empty sella syndrome
• Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) blood test
• Gigantism
• Growth hormone stimulation test
• Growth hormone suppression test
• Growth hormone test

Related Health Topics

• Pituitary Tumors

National Institutes of Health

The primary NIH organization for research on Pituitary Disorders is theNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

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Summary

Your pituitary gland is a pea-sized gland at the base of your brain. The pituitary is the "master control gland" - it makes hormones that affect growth and the functions of other glands in the body.

With pituitary disorders, you often have too much or too little of one of your hormones. Injuries can cause pituitary disorders, but the most common cause is a pituitary tumor.

Start Here

• Pituitary Gland Disorders Overview (Hormone Health Network)

Diagnosis and Tests

• ACTH (Adrenocorticotropic Hormone) Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• FSH (Follicle-Stimulating Hormone) Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• Growth Hormone (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• IGF-1 (Insulin-Like Growth Factor -1) Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• LH (Luteinizing Hormone) Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) -- Head (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America)Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• You and Your Endocrinologist (Hormone Health Network)

Specifics

• Acromegaly  (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
• Empty Sella Syndrome  (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Galactorrhea (American Academy of Family Physicians)Also in Spanish
• Hyperprolactinemia (Hormone Health Network)Also in Spanish
• Hypopituitarism (Hormone Health Network)
• Septo-Optic Dysplasia  (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Genetics

• Genetics Home Reference: combined pituitary hormone deficiency (National Library of Medicine)

Videos and Tutorials

• Pituitary gland  (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Acromegaly  (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Pituitary Diseases  (National Institutes of Health)

Journal ArticlesReferences and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Pathogenesis and Diagnosis of Growth Hormone Deficiency in Adults. 
• Article: Combined pituitary hormone deficiency caused by PROP1 mutations: update 20 years... 
• Article: Acute intravenous acyl ghrelin infusion induces thirst but does not affect... 
• Pituitary Disorders -- see more articles 

Reference Desk

• Endocrine System (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation)Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)Also in Spanish
• Find an Endocrinologist (Hormone Health Network)
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases 
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Also in Spanish

Children

• Your Endocrine System (For Kids) (Nemours Foundation)Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Endocrine System (For Teens) (Nemours Foundation)Also in Spanish

Women

• Sheehan's Syndrome (Postpartum Hypopituitarism)(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Patient Handouts

• ACTH (cosyntropin) stimulation test (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• ACTH blood test (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Empty sella syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) blood test (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Gigantism (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Growth hormone stimulation test (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Hypopituitarism (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Luteinizing hormone (LH) blood test (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Pituitary infarction (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish