1758 –1763 HAEN, Anton de (1704 – 1776)

De cranii ustione in pertinacioribus capitis vitiis. In his: Ratio medendi in nosocomio practico, 6, 239-287. 8 vols.

Haen provided the first description of amenorrhea in connection with a pituitary tumor. He recorded the case history of a young woman suffering from amenorrhea as well as many neurological symptoms assumed to result f…

GMN 3878 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4940

1794 FRANK, Johann Peter (1745 – 1821)

De curandis hominum morbis epitome. Liber V.

Frank was the first to define diabetes insipidus (pp. 38-67).

GMN 3879 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5309

1801 SAUCEROTTE, Nicolas (1741 – 1814)

Accroissement singulier en grosseur des os d’un homme âgé de 39 ans. In: Mélanges de chirurgie, 407-11.

Saucerotte described before the Académie de Chirurgie in 1772 a case of what is now known to have been acromegaly. This is the first known clinical description of the disease, and is one of the five cases included in …

GMN 3880 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4942

1823 RAYER, Pierre François Olive (1793 – 1867)

Observations sur les maladies de l’appendice sus-sphenoïdal (glande pituitaire) du cerveau.

Includes description of pituitary obesity.

GMN 3881 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4943

1840 MOHR, Bernhard (1809 – 1848)

Hypertrophie der Hypophysis cerebri und dadurch bedingter Druck auf die Hirngrundfläche, insbesondere auf die Sehnerven, das Chiasma derselben und den linkseitigen Hirnschenkel.

The first case of pituitary obesity with infantilism (Fröhlich’s syndrome) was reported by Mohr. Coincidentally, this appears in the same volume of the Wochenschrift as does Basedow’s classic description of exophthalm…

GMN 3882 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4944

1871 FANEAU DE LA COUR, Ferdinand-Valère (1843 – 1871); LORAIN, Paul Joseph (1827 – 1875)

Du féminisme et de l’infantilisme chez les tuberculeux.

In a letter prefaced to Faneau de La Cour’s thesis, Paul Joseph Lorain (1827-1875) described the idiopathic arrest of growth now known as “Lorain’s type”. It was subsequently ascribed to hypopituitarism. The word “inf…

GMN 3883 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5314

1886 HORSLEY, Sir Victor Alexander Haden (1857 – 1916)

Functional nervous disorders due to the loss of thyroid gland and pituitary body.

GMN 3835 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4854

1886 MARIE, Pierre (1853 – 1940)

Sur deux cas d’acromégalie. Hypertrophie singulière non congénitale des extrémités supérieures, inférieures et céphalique.

In this, the first complete clinical description of the condition, Marie suggested the name “acromegaly”. The paper excited much interest and was translated into English and published by the New Sydenham Society, 1891.

GMN 3884 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4947

1887 MINKOWSKI, Oscar (1858 – 1931)

Lieber einen Fall von Akromegalie.

Minkowski called attention to the constancy of pituitary enlargement on acromegaly; he was the first definitely to note this relationship.

GMN 3885 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4948

1893 CATON, Richard (1842 – 1926); PAUL, Frank Thomas (1851 – 1941)

Notes on a case of acromegaly treated by operation.

First attempt (unsuccessful) to treat acromegaly operatively. Decompression was performed to relieve cranial pressure.

GMN 3886 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4957

1900 BABINSKI, Joseph François Félix (1857 – 1932)

Tumeur du corps pituitaire sans acromégalie et avec arrêt de développement des organes génitaux.

Babinski preceded Fröhlich in describing dystrophia adiposo-genitalis.

GMN 3887 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4949

1900 BENDA, Carl (1857 – 1933)

Beiträge zur normalen und pathologischen Histologie der menschlichen Hypophysis cerebri.

Benda showed that the pituitary tumor in acromegaly consists of chromophil cells.

GMN 3888 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4950

1901 FRÖHLICH, Alfred (1871 – 1953)

Ein Fall von Tumor der Hypophysis cerebri ohne Akromegalie.

Fröhlich’s classic description of dystrophia adiposogenitalis, pituitary tumor, with obesity and sexual infantilism (“Fröhlich’s syndrome”). Reprinted (in German) in Research Publications, Association for Nervous and …

GMN 3889 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4951

1906 CUSHING, Harvey Williams (1869 – 1939)

Sexual infantilism with optic atrophy in cases of tumor affecting the hypophysis cerebri.

GMN 3890 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4953

1906 SCHLOFFER, Hermann (1868 – 1937)

Zur Frage der Operationen an der Hypophyse.

Schloffer’s Operation for acromegaly. He was the first successfully to operate upon a pituitary tumor in man (See No. 3892).

GMN 3891 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4954

1907 SCHLOFFER, Hermann (1868 – 1937)

Erfolgreiche Operation eines hypophysen Tumors auf nasalem Wege.

Schloffer’s Operation by the nasal route.

GMN 3892 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4955

1908 RENON, Louis (1863 – 1922); DELILLE, Arthur (1876 – )

Insuffisance thyro-ovarienne et hyperactivité hypophysaire (troubles acromégaliques).

Rénon–Delille syndrome – dyspituitarism manifested by lowered blood-pressure, tachycardia, oliguria, insomnia, hyperhidrosis, and intolerance to heat.

GMN 3893 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4956

1909 DALE, Sir Henry Hallett (1875 – 1968)

The action of extracts of the pituitary body.

Oxytocic action of posterior pituitary injection.

GMN 1159 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1500

1909 HIRSCH, Oskar (1877 – 1965)

Eine neue Methode der endonasalen operation von Hypophysentumoren.

Hirsch first demonstrated the transnasal transseptal exposure of the sphenoid sinus and pituitary gland in a cadaveric specimen in front of the medical society of Vienna.

GMN 3895 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4959

1909 BLAIR-BELL, William (1871 – 1936)

The pituitary body and the therapeutic value of the infundibular extract in shock, uterine atony, and intestinal paresis.

GMN 6215 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/7630

1910 CUSHING, Harvey Williams (1869 – 1939); CROWE, Samuel James (1883 – 1955); HOMANS, John (1877 – 1955)

Experimental hypophysectomy.

First experimental evidence of the relationship between the pituitary and the reproductive system; demonstration that hypophysectomy causes genital atrophy.

GMN 1160 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1504

1910 CUSHING, Harvey Williams (1869 – 1939)

The functions of the pituitary body.

See No. 3896.

GMN 1161 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1505

1912 CUSHING, Harvey Williams (1869 – 1939)

The pituitary body and its disorders.

The first clinical monograph on the hypophysis. Cushing, outstanding neurological surgeon of the early 20th century, added much to our knowledge of the pituitary body and its disorders. The above work includes a descr…

GMN 3896 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4960

1912 FRANK, Alfred Erich (1884 – 1957)

Ueber Beziehungen der Hypophyse zum Diabetes insipidus.

Frank was the first definitely to connect the posterior lobe of the pituitary with diabetes insipidus.

GMN 3897 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4962

1912 MARK, Leonard Portal (1855 – 1930)

Acromegaly: a personal experience.

Mark, a medical practitioner, suffered from acromegaly from the age of 24. The condition was obvious to his friends, but Mark was 50 before he realized the cause of the symptoms of which he had kept a record for many …

GMN 3898 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4966

1913 SOUQUES, Achille Alexandre (1860 – 1944); CHAUVET, Stephen (1885 – 1950)

Infantilism hypophysaire.

Classic account of pituitary infantilism.

GMN 3899 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4968

1913 GLIÑSKI, Leon Konrad (1870 – 1918)

Z kazuistyki zmian anatomo-patholigicznych w przysadce mózgowej

Glinski preceded Simmonds in this important description of post-partum necrosis of the anterior pituitary. Abstract in Dtsch med. Wschr., 1913, 39, 473.

GMN 3900 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4970

1914 SIMMONDS, Morris (1855 – 1925)

Ueber Hypophysisschwund mit tödlichem Ausgang.

“Simmonds’s disease”-pituitary cachexia. See also Virchows Arch. path. Anat., 1914, 217, 226-39.

GMN 3901 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4973

1916 ERDHEIM, Jakob (1874 – 1937)

Nanosomia pituitaria

Erdheim made important studies on the pathology of the pituitary. He gave the name “nanosomia pituitaria” to describe pituitary dwarfism. See also his paper in Ergebn. allg. Path, 1926, 21, 482.

GMN 3902 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4975

1921 EVANS, Herbert McLean (1882 – 1971); LONG, Joseph Abraham (1879 – 1953)

The effect of the anterior lobe administered intraperitoneally upon growth, maturity and oestrus cycles of the rat.

Evans and Long discovered the growth hormone of the anterior pituitary, showing that continued injections of an anterior pituitary extract produced an acceleration in the growth-rate of laboratory animals.

GMN 1163 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1531

1922 –1923 ABEL, John Jacob (1857 – 1938); ROUILLER, Charles August (1883 – )

Evaluation of the hormone of the infundibulum of the pituitary gland in terms of histamine, with experiments on the action of repeated injections of the hormone on the blood pressure.

GMN 1164 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1535

1926 CUSHING, Harvey Williams (1869 – 1939)

Studies in intracranial physiology & surgery. The third circulation. The hypophysis. The gliomas. The Cameron Prize Lectures delivered at the University of Edinburgh October 19, 20, 22, 1925.

This series of three lectures was an analytical review by Cushing of the three main categories of scientific work that he had accomplished during the previous 25 years. Remarkably, Cushing completed this review and de…

GMN 14313 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/16638

1927 SMITH, Philip Edward (1884 – 1970); ENGLE, Earl Theron (1896 – 1957)

Experimental evidence regarding the rôle of the anterior pituitary in the development and regulation of the genital system.

Pituitary tissue implanted in the immature mouse was found by these writers to cause precocious sexual maturity. Thus they showed that the activity of the gonads is maintained by the anterior lobe of the pituitary.

GMN 1167 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1546

1928 KAMM, Oliver (1888 – 1965); ET AL

The active principles of the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland. I. The demonstration of the presence of two active principles. II. The separation of the two principles and their concentration in the form of potent solid preparations.

Isolation of vasopressin and oxytocin. With T. B. Aldrich, I. W. Grote, L. W. Rowe, and E. P. Bugbee.

GMN 1168.1 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1554

1929 LOEB, Leo (1869 – 1959); BASSETT, R. B.

Effect of hormones of anterior pituitary on thyroid gland in the guinea pig.

Loeb and Aron (No.1138.2) demonstrated the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in the anterior pituitary.

GMN 1138.01 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1342

1929 ARON, Max Raymond Emile (1892 – 1974)

Action de la préhypophyse sur le thyroïde chez le cobaye.

Simultaneously with Loeb (No. 1138.1) Aron demonstrated the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in the anterior pituitary.

GMN 1138.02 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1345

1930 HOUSSAY, Bernardo Alberto (1887 – 1971); BIASOTTI, Alfredo Benito (1903 – 1991)

La diabetes pancreática de los perros hipofisoprivos.

Houssay’s depancreatized hypophysectomized dog. This work led to Houssay’s demonstration of the importance of the anterior pituitary in sugar metabolism. See also Endocrinology, 1931,15, 511-23. In 1947 Houssay shared…

GMN 1169 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1562

1932 ATKINSON, Frederick Richard Breeks (1867 – 1939)

Acromegaly.

An extensive analytical tabulation of acromegaly; 1,319 cases are reported.

GMN 3903 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4976

1932 CUSHING, Harvey Williams (1869 – 1939)

The basophil adenomas of the pituitary body and their clinical manifestations (pituitary basophilism).

“Cushing’s syndrome”.

GMN 3904 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4978

1933 RIDDLE, Oscar (1877 – 1968); ET AL

The preparation, identification and assay of prolactin – a hormone of the anterior pituitary.

With R. W. Bates and S. W. Dykshorn.

GMN 1171 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1570

1936 –1939 VAN DYKE, Harry Benjamin (1895 – 1971)

The physiology and pharmacology of the pituitary body. 2 vols.

Includes an extensive bibliography.

GMN 1172 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1574

1936 INGRAM, Walter Robinson (1905 – 1978); ET AL

Experimental diabetes insipidus in the monkey.

With C. Fisher and S. W. Ransom.

GMN 3905 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4981

1937 SHEEHAN, Harold Leeming (1900 – 1988)

Post-partum necrosis of the anterior pituitary.

Sheehan’s syndrome – panhypopituitarism due to pituitary necrosis following post-partum hemorrhage.

GMN 3907.1 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4985

1939 BIGGART, Sir John Henry (1905 – 1979); ALEXANDER, George Lionel (1902 – 1970)

Experimental diabetes insipidus.

Production of diabetes insipidus in dogs by injury to the hypothalamus.

GMN 3907 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4983

1945 EVANS, Herbert McLean (1882 – 1971); LI, Choh Hao (1913 – 1987); SIMPSON, Miriam Elizabeth (1894 – 1991)

Isolation and properties of the anterior hypophyseal growth hormone.

Choh Hao Li and colleagues isolated the anterior pituitary growth hormone.

GMN 1175.1 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1585

1948 KINSELL, Laurence Wilkie (1907 – 1968); ET AL

Studies in growth. I. Interrelationship between pituitary growth factor and growth-promoting androgens in acromegaly and gigantism. II. Quantitative evaluation of bone and soft tissue growth in acromegaly and gigantism.

L. W. Kinsell, G. D. Michaels, C. H. Li, and W. E. Larsen showed that there is an increase in growth hormone in plasma in acromegaly.

GMN 3908 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4987

1949 EVANS, Herbert McLean (1882 – 1971); LI, Choh Hao (1913 – 1987); SIMPSON, Miriam Elizabeth (1894 – 1991)

Isolation of pituitary follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).

By Choh Hao Li and colleagues.

GMN 1175.2 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1588

1953 LUFT, Rolf (1914 – 2007); OLIVECRONA, Herbert (1891 – 1980)

Experience with hypophysectomy in man.

Demonstration of the beneficial effect of hypophysectomy in cancer of the breast and of the testis.

GMN 3908.1 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4996

1996 BETTENDORF, Gerhard (1926 – 2009)

Geschichte der Hypophysenhormone.

GMN 12838 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/15084