THE PITUITARY BODY. 735 



•associated in a remarkable manner the origin of a body (tlie pituitary gland 

 or hypophysis cerebri) the nature and uses of A\'hich in the adult are entii'cly 



Fiff. 535. 



Fig. 535.— Vertical Section of the Head in Early Ejibryoes of the Rabbit, 

 Magnified {from Mihalkovics). 



A. From an embryo of five millimetres long. 



B. From an embryo of six millimetres long, 



C. Vertical section of the anterior end of the notochord and i^ituitary body, &c., from 

 an embryo sixteen millimetres long. 



In A, the faucial opening is still closed ; in R, it is formed ; c. anterior cerebral 

 vesicle ; mc, meso-cerebrum ; mo, medulla oblongata ; co, corneous layer ; to, medullary 

 layer ; if, infundibuhim ; avi, amnion ; spe, spheno-ethmoidal, be, central (dorsum sellte), 

 and spo, sj^heno-occipital parts of the basis cranii ; /;, heart ; /, anterior extremity of 

 primitive alimentary canal and opening (later) of the fauces ; i, cephalic jrortion of 

 primitive intestine ; tha, thalamus ; p', closed opening of the involuted part of the 

 pituitary body (py) ; ch, notochord ; pk, pharynx. 



imkno-mi, but the constancy of whose presence, and the imiformity of its 

 connections in the whole series of vertebrate animals, points to some important 

 morphological relation. 



The general nature of this body, in its joint connection with the infundibulum 

 of the brain on the one hand, and a diverticulum of the alimentary canal on the 

 other, was first pointed out by Eathke (Miiller's Archiv, 1838. p. 482), although he 

 afterwards abandoned the view there set forth. It was, however, fully confirmed by 

 others ; and, among recent observers, we owe more especially to William Miiller an 



