Healthdirect homepage
Free Australian health advice you can count on

Pituitary gland and hormones

Key facts

  • Your pituitary gland is a small gland in your brain that makes and controls many hormones.
  • It's also called the 'master gland' because it tells other glands in the body what to do.
  • The pituitary gland controls growth, metabolism, blood pressure and reproduction.
  • Conditions such as prolactinoma or hypopituitarism happen when the gland makes too much or too little hormone.
  • Treatment for pituitary conditions depends on the cause and the hormones affected.

What is the pituitary gland?

The pituitary is a small, bean-sized gland. It is located at the base of your brain, in line with the top of your nose. It is part of your endocrine (hormone) system.

Your pituitary acts as your body's 'master gland'. It tells other glands in your body what to do.

Illustration of the endocrine glands highlighting the pituitary gland.

Illustration showing the pituitary gland.

What does the pituitary gland do?

Your pituitary gland makes hormones. It also controls many of the other endocrine glands, including your:

  • Hormones made by the pituitary gland include: growth hormone — regulates growth
  • thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) — tells your thyroid gland to make hormones
  • prolactin — controls breastmilk production
  • adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) — tells your adrenal glands to make hormones
  • follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) — helps regulate the reproductive system
  • luteinising hormone — also involved in the reproductive system

The pituitary gland also stores and releases:

How is the pituitary gland controlled?

Your pituitary gland is controlled by your hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is located in your brain, above the pituitary gland. It sends signals to your pituitary gland, telling it when to release hormones.

What body functions do these hormones affect?

The hormones made or controlled by your pituitary gland affect vital body functions, including:

What medical conditions can affect the pituitary gland?

The pituitary gland can sometimes make too much or too little of a hormone. This may lead to a 'pituitary condition'.

Pituitary conditions are often caused by growths in the gland. These growths are usually benign (not cancerous). They may lead to hormone problems when they take up too much space.

Other causes of pituitary conditions include:

Treatment depends on the cause and the hormones affected.

Preparing for an appointment? See our tips on questions to ask your doctor.

Prolactinoma

A prolactinoma is a benign growth (non-cancerous tumour) on the pituitary gland that makes prolactin. This can lead to hyperprolactinaemia (too much prolactin in the blood).

Symptoms in females may include:

Symptoms in males may include:

Hyperprolactinaemia can also be caused by certain medicines.

CHECK YOUR SYMPTOMS — Use the Symptom Checker and find out if you need to seek medical help.

Hypopituitarism

Hypopituitarism is when the pituitary gland doesn't make enough of one or more hormones. This affects the hormones made by other glands in the body.

Symptoms may develop slowly and vary from person to person.

Growth hormone deficiency

Growth hormone deficiency is when the pituitary gland doesn't make enough growth hormone. This might happen because of:

  • a tumour
  • damage to the pituitary gland
  • abnormal development of the pituitary gland

In children, this can delay growth and lead to a child being shorter in height than expected.

In adults, symptoms may include:

Other pituitary conditions

Rare pituitary conditions include:

  • gigantism — when a child has too much growth hormone and grows very tall
  • acromegaly — when an adult has too much growth hormone, causing larger hands, feet and face
  • Cushing's syndrome — where the body creates too much cortisol due to a growth in the pituitary gland

FIND A HEALTH SERVICE — The Service Finder can help you find doctors, pharmacies, hospitals and other health services.

Resources and support

You can also call the healthdirect helpline on 1800 022 222 (known as NURSE-ON-CALL in Victoria). A registered nurse is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Other languages

Hormones Australia has a range of fact sheets in many community languages (Opens in new tab).

Last reviewed: December 2024

Need more information?

These trusted information partners have more on this topic.
Top results

Search our site for

Symptom Checker

Worried about your health?

Select a symptom, answer some questions, get advice

Service Finder

service category
General practicePharmacyHospitalEmergency department
Search other services
Use current location