a life-threatening condition. Hypopituitarism could be caused by the destruction or removal of the anterior pituitary tissue through traumatic brain injury, tumor, tuberculosis, or syphilis, among other causes. This disorder used to be referred to as Simmonds' disease but now according to the Diseases Database it is called Sheehan syndrome. If the hypopituitarism is caused by the blood loss associated with childbirth, the disorder is referred to as Sheehan syndrome. History Etymology The anterior pituitary is also known as the adenohypophysis, meaning "glandular undergrowth", from the Greek adeno- ("gland"), hypo ("under"), and physis ("growth"). Additional images See also Triple bolus test Hypothalamic–pituitary–somatic axis References Further reading Marieb, E. 2004. Human Anatomy and Physiology. Benjamin Cummings: New York. Wheater, P., Burkitt, H., Daniels, V. 1987. Functional Histology. Churchill Livingstone: New York. External links Embryology at unc.edu The Pituitary Network Association -- www.pituitary.org Secretion of hormones from the Anterior Pituitary Gland Endocrine system Human head and neck