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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Oct 15.
Published in final edited form as: Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2016 Sep 17;445:14–26. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2016.09.016

Figure 2. The Pituitary Gland Develops from Distinct Embryonic Origins.

Figure 2

Pituitary development in the mouse begins from E8.0, when the neural ectoderm adjacent to the pituitary placode produces signaling factors (yellow) to initiate the invagination of Rathke’s pouch. The pouch will begin to pinch off from the oral ectoderm at E10.5 and completely separate by E12.5. Rathke’s pouch gives rise to the anterior lobe, which continues to expand ventrally and laterally. The infundibulum evaginates downwards from the neural ectoderm and forms the posterior lobe.