ABSTRACT
The hypothalamus is connected with limbic structures that are concerned with emotion and its expression. It gets input from the hippocampus by way of the subiculum via the postcommissural fornix, which projects mainly to the mammillary bodies, and by way of the septum, via the precommissural fornix, which makes connections with all three zones of the hypothalamus. Dopaminergic axons from the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmentum, however, simply traverse the hypothalamus without establishing connections. There are two routes by which the hypothalamus controls hormone output from the pituitary. The functional connection between the hypothalamus and the posterior lobe is neural. The adenohypophysis consists of the anterior lobe, an intermediate lobe which is poorly developed in humans, and the pars tuberalis, an extension surrounding the infundibular stalk. The pars tuberalis and the infundibular stalk are together termed the pituitary stalk (infundibulum).
