Duplication of the Pituitary and Stomatodaeal Structures in a 38-Week Male Infant

Duplication of the pituitary (hypophysis) and other structures in the region of the mouth may be regarded as a minor degree of partial twinning which did not go on to frank monster formation.Ahlfeld (1880), who considered that the first grade of duplication of the anterior end of the body was a doubling of the hypophysis, reports one case in man; and McCall (1943) records a double Rathke's pouch with two corresponding diencephalic diverticula in a 10-mm.C.R. rat embryo.No other reports of such duplications have been found in a search of the literature.These abnormalities are interesting not only because of their rarity, but also because they illustrate that twin formation may well occur, as postulated by Corner (1955), during the differentiation of the germ disc from the inner cell mass.History A 38-week male infant, born on March 11, 1956, of a primigravida aged 28 years, was sent to hospital on account of a double cleft palate and other malformations of the interior of the mouth.He died three days after birth and a full anatomical examination of the body was carried out after perfusion through the femoral arteries.There was no history of congenital malformations in either the mother's or the father's family.The mother gave no history of any illness from early childhood, and had no pyrexial upsets during the pregnancy.Her menstrual periods were 'normal and regular'.Her last menstrual period had been on June 16, 1955.Slight uterine bleeding lasting 36 hours was noted on June 30, and a continuous loss lasting 21 days started on July 14, 1955.