Pituicyte
Encyclopedia
A pituicyte is a glial cell
of the posterior pituitary
.
They generally stain dark purple with an H&E stain
, and are among the easiest structures to identify in the region (pars nervosa of the posterior pituitary).
They are similar to the astrocytes/glial cells of the CNS.
Glial cell
Glial cells, sometimes called neuroglia or simply glia , are non-neuronal cells that maintain homeostasis, form myelin, and provide support and protection for neurons in the brain, and for neurons in other parts of the nervous system such as in the autonomous nervous system...
of the posterior pituitary
Posterior pituitary
The posterior pituitary comprises the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland and is part of the endocrine system. Despite its name, the posterior pituitary gland is not a gland, per se; rather, it is largely a collection of axonal projections from the hypothalamus that terminate behind the anterior...
.
They generally stain dark purple with an H&E stain
H&E stain
H&E stain, HE stain or hematoxylin and eosin stain is a popular staining method in histology. It is the most widely used stain in medical diagnosis; for example when a pathologist looks at a biopsy of a suspected cancer, the histological section is likely to be stained with H&E and termed H&E...
, and are among the easiest structures to identify in the region (pars nervosa of the posterior pituitary).
They are similar to the astrocytes/glial cells of the CNS.
External links
- NIF Search - Pituicyte via the Neuroscience Information FrameworkNeuroscience Information FrameworkThe Neuroscience Information Framework is a repository of global neuroscience web resources, including experimental, clinical, and translational neuroscience databases, knowledge bases, atlases, and genetic/genomic resources.-Description:...