Résumé
The mammalian pituitary liberates hormones involved in a range of homeostatic body processes encompassing growth, reproduction, stress, and metabolism. To accomplish this, endocrine cells residing within the gland must respond coordinately to a variety of inputs. Historically, based on 2D‐immunohistological studies, hormone‐secreting cells have been considered to be randomly distributed throughout the tissue. However, recent advents in transgenesis and tissue‐scale imaging have revealed that pituitary cells form specific and three‐dimensionally interconnected networks with implications for both signal‐processing and hormone secretion. Here, we describe the fundamental experimental and mathematical approaches that can be used to dissect apart the contributions of cell organization to pituitary gland structure and function.