Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Median eminence
Introduction
The median eminence is part of the inferior boundary for the hypothalamus part of the human brain. A small swelling on the tuber cinereum posterior to the infundibulum – atop the pituitary stalk – the median eminence lies in the area roughly bounded on its posterolateral region by the cerebral peduncles, and on its anterolateral region by the optic chiasm.
The median eminence is one of the seven areas of the brain devoid of a blood-brain barrier (see also circumventricular organs).
Physiology
The median eminence has an important physiological importance, as it is integral to the hypophyseal portal system, which connects the hypothalamus with the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland. It is in this structure that the secretions of the hypothalamus (releasing and inhibiting regulatory hormones) collect before entering the portal system.
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