The past two decades have witnessed an unprecedented growth in the field ofneuroendocrinology. The conjoint research contributions by clinicians and basic scientists have promulgated revolutionary concepts at a breakneck speed. This first volume in Clinical Surveys in Endocrinology, The Pituitary Gland, has been written with but one purpose in mind: to integrate the current knowledge in this dynamic field with the existing body of information already available to the clinician. The chapters in this book attempt to portray current research information seen through the eyes of a clinician. The contributions of pioneers in each field have been placed in a perspective relevant to the practicing endocrinologist. The selection of the almost 1500 references from a bewil- of literature has been inftuenced by the degree to which these dering body articles-original as weil as review papers-contributed to the growth of pi- tuitary endocrinology. Despite the most scrutinizing attempts, it is inevitable and regrettable that works of importance must be excluded due to the practical limitations of any comprehensive work. Nevertheless, to the researcher these references are complete enough to serve as a significant resource. To the reader who wishes to gain an indepth clinical perspective of pituitary disor- ders, this work is written precisely from that vantage point. The single authorship of this work notwithstanding, several friends have been instrumental in the completion of this work. I deeply appreciate the incessant zeal and excellent assistance of Ms.