Cytology of the Anterior Pituitary Gland of the Post-Menopausal Woman

THERE is abundant evidence both experimental and clinical that a close physiological interrelationship exists between the anterior lobe of the hypophysis and the ovaries. It is not surprising, therefore, that the pituitary gland should be suspected of playing some part in initiating the ovarian changes at the time of menopause. Carlson (1) expresses this point of view when he asks “if the waning of the gonads and the mammary glands is caused by an antecedent hypofunction of the pituitary?” He is properly cautious to point out that we do not have scientific evidence to enable us to answer this question. In fact, we cannot be sure whether changes in the functioning of the anterior lobe at the time of menopause result in the ovarian changes, or whether the pituitary alterations are the result of changes which for other reasons have occurred in the ovary. Since it has been well established that cytological features in secretory cells give clues to the cell's activity, it should be worth while to study carefully the cells of the anterior lobe in the postmenopausal woman.