What would the biological effect of severing the portal blood vessels in the stalk of a pituitary gland?
Would the release of hormones by the posterior pituitary gland be affected by severing the portal blood vessels?
If any of the blood vessels in the brain were severed, I would think that the effects of bleeding would be so great that you wouldn't need to worry about hormone changes.
However, since this is not my area of expertise, I searched Google under the key words "posterior pituitary" to get this:
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=posterior+pituitary&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
In the future, you can find the information you desire more quickly, if you use appropriate key words to do your own search. Also see http://hanlib.sou.edu/searchtools/.
Severing the portal blood vessels in the stalk of a pituitary gland would have significant biological effects. These blood vessels are responsible for transporting blood from the hypothalamus to the pituitary gland, allowing for the communication between these two structures.
The pituitary gland is often referred to as the "master gland" because it plays a crucial role in the endocrine system by producing and releasing hormones that regulate various bodily functions. It is composed of two main parts: the anterior pituitary gland (adenohypophysis) and the posterior pituitary gland (neurohypophysis).
The posterior pituitary gland does not actually produce hormones but stores and releases them. It receives signals from the hypothalamus, which produces hormones that are transported through the portal blood vessels and released into the posterior pituitary gland.
If the portal blood vessels are severed, the communication between the hypothalamus and the posterior pituitary gland would be disrupted. As a result, the release of hormones by the posterior pituitary gland would be affected.
To further understand the biological effect, it is important to note that the hormones released by the posterior pituitary gland include oxytocin, which is involved in uterine contractions during childbirth and milk ejection during breastfeeding, and antidiuretic hormone (ADH), also known as vasopressin, which regulates water balance by influencing the reabsorption of water in the kidney.
Without the portal blood vessels, the hypothalamic hormones containing oxytocin and ADH would not reach the posterior pituitary gland efficiently, leading to reduced or impaired release of these hormones. Consequently, this can result in various physiological disturbances, including problems with childbirth, lactation, and water balance regulation.
In summary, severing the portal blood vessels in the stalk of a pituitary gland would disrupt the communication between the hypothalamus and the posterior pituitary gland. This can lead to a significant impact on the release of hormones by the posterior pituitary gland, affecting functions such as childbirth, lactation, and water balance regulation.