In vertebrate anatomy the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea and weighing 5 grams in humans. It is not a part of the brain. It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain, and rests in a small, bony cavity covered by a dural fold . The pituitary is functionally connected to the hypothalamus by the median eminence via a small tube called the infundibular stem.
