Median eminence

Median eminence
Median eminence is 'ME', at bottom-center, in light-green
Details
Identifiers
Latin	eminentia mediana hypothalami
MeSH	A08.186.211.730.385.357.352.435.249
NeuroNames	hier-385
NeuroLex ID	Median eminence
TA	A14.1.08.409
FMA	74634
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy []

The median eminence is part of the inferior boundary of the hypothalamus in 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. It is sometimes considered one of the circumventricular organs.

The median eminence is a part of the hypothalamus from which regulatory hormones are released. It is of great physiological importance, as it is integral to the hypophyseal portal system, which connects the hypothalamus with the pituitary gland. The pars nervosa (part of the posterior pituitary gland) is continuous with the median eminence of the hypothalamus via the infundibular stalk. Parvocellular neurons from the hypothalamus terminate in the median eminence of the hypothalamus. To be specific, it is in the median eminence that the secretions of the hypothalamus (releasing and inhibiting regulatory hormones, known as "hypophysiotropic hormones") collect before entering the portal system. Such hypophysiotropic hormones include: CRF (corticotropin-releasing factor), GnRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone), TRH (thyrotropin-releasing hormone), GHRH (growth hormone-releasing hormone), and DA (dopamine). These hypophysiotropic hormones go on to stimulate or inhibit the release of hormones from the anterior pituitary.