The Pituitary Gland And Dwarfism :: essays research papers

The Pituitary Gland and DwarfismThe Pituitary Gland is situated at the base of the brain and it produces endocrines which ascendence growth. Too large an amount of these hormones causesgiantism, a condition where facial features, hands, etc. become abnormally large.Too little causes dwarfism, where the overall stature of a person is very small.Dwarfism is the condition of being undersized, or less than 127 cm (50in) in tiptop. Some dwarfs fall in been less than 64 cm (24 in) in height whenfully grown. The word midget is usually applied to dwarfs. An different growthdisorder disease is Cretinism which is a result of a disease of the thyroidgland it is the cause of most dwarfism in Europe, Canada, and the United States.Other causes of dwarfism are Downs syndrome, a congenital condition withsymptoms similar to those of cretinism, achondroplasia, a disease characterizedby forgetful extremities resulting from absorption of cartilaginous tissue duringthe fetal stage, spinal tuberculos is, and deficiency of the secretions of thepituitary gland or of the ovary.Causes of pituitary dwarfism may vary. Abnormally short height inchildhood may be due to the pituitary gland not functioning correctly, resultingin underproduction of growth hormone. This may result from a tumor in thepituitary gland, absence of the pituitary gland, or trauma.Growth retardation may become evident in infancy and persists throughoutchildhood. blueprint puberty may or may not occur depending on the degree ofpituitary insufficiency that is present, which is the inability of the pituitaryto produce adequate hormone levels other than growth hormone.Physical defects of the face and skull may also be associated withabnormalities of the pituitary gland. A small percentage of infants with cleftlip and cleft roof of the mouth may have decreased growth hormone levels.No ideal treatment has been developed yet for pituitary dwarfism.Replacement therapy with growth hormone is indicated for children who hav edocumented growth hormone deficiency. If the deficiency is an isolated growthhormone deficiency only growth hormone is given. If the deficiency is notisolated other hormone replacement preparations will be required.There are a few complications of pituitary dwarfism.