hypopituitarism
Sign in to saveAlso known as Pituitary insufficiency NOS, pituitary hormone deficiency, Pituitary insufficiency, Pituitary hypofunction
Hypopituitarism is the decreased (hypo) secretion of one or more of the eight hormones normally produced by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. If there is decreased secretion of one specific pituitary hormone, the condition is known as selective hypopituitarism. If there is decreased secretion of most or all pituitary hormones, the term panhypopituitarism (pan meaning "all") is used.
Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Hypopituitarism
- Medical condition (new).image
- Gray1180.png
- Medical condition (new).caption
- The pituitary gland on a plate from Gray's Anatomy (1918). The anterior lobe is on the left, and the posterior lobe on the right, both in red.
- Medical condition (new).field
- Endocrinology
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
13,244 papers- Hypopituitarism and Cardiovascular Risk.Journal of cardiovascular pharmacology and therapeutics · 2025
- Congenital Hypopituitarism.Clinics in perinatology · 2018
- Neonatal Hypopituitarism.NeoReviews · 2026
- Hypopituitarism after Orthohantavirus Infection: What is Currently Known?Viruses · 2019
- Hypopituitarism in childhood.Cancer control : journal of the Moffitt Cancer Center · 2002
via PubMed
~28 min read
Encyclopedic overview
18 sectionsContents
- Signs and symptoms
- Complications
- Anterior pituitary
- Posterior pituitary
- Causes
- Pathophysiology
- Diagnosis
- Basal tests
- Stimulation tests
- Further investigations
- Treatment
- Underlying cause
- Hormone replacement
- Prognosis
- Epidemiology
- History
- References
- External links
Hypopituitarism is the decreased (hypo) secretion of one or more of the eight hormones normally produced by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. If there is decreased secretion of one specific pituitary hormone, the condition is known as selective hypopituitarism. If there is decreased secretion of most or all pituitary hormones, the term panhypopituitarism (pan meaning "all") is used.
The signs and symptoms of hypopituitarism vary, depending on which hormones are under-secreted and on the underlying cause of the abnormality. The diagnosis of hypopituitarism is made by blood tests, but often specific scans and other investigations are needed to find the underlying cause, such as tumors of the pituitary, and the ideal treatment. Most hormones controlled by the secretions of the pituitary can be replaced by tablets or injections. Hypopituitarism is a rare disease, but may be significantly under-diagnosed in people with previous traumatic brain injury. The first description of the condition was made in 1914 by the German physician Dr Morris Simmonds.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “hypopituitarism” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.