ABSTRACT
In the Rana temporaria tadpole, the part of the infundibular floor that eventually becomes the eminentia mediana is very thin throughout premetamorphosis; the supply of aminergic and neurosecretory nerves is poor, and the area is covered by a few fenestrated capillaries. The organ begins to thicken around mid-prometamorphosis owing to a marked invasion of nerves. At this stage it is also penetrated by capillaries and perivascular space extensions, which together form the neurovascular link structures. These become more pronounced during metamorphic climax, when the eminentia mediana attains the adult appearance. Development of the organ is arrested at the premetamorphic stage after thyroidectomy in the young premetamorphic tadpole. Removal of the adenohypophysial primordium from the embryo of the tailbud stage prevents the vascular-but not the neural-component of the eminentia from developing beyond the premetamorphic stage. By contrast, in the American Rana-species investigated the neural component also fails to develop after hypophysectomy.
