Pituitary gland. Coloured 3-D computed tomography (CT) scan of the pituitary gland (white) and brain in a cutaway of a man's head, seen from the front. The pituitary gland is a pea-sized gland that hangs from the base of the front of the brain, encased in a small cavity in the skull. It is connected by a stalk of nerve cells to a part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which controls the gland by nervous signals and hormones. The pituitary gland produces hormones that influence other glands around the body, controlling growth, sexual development, milk production, water balance and numerous other physiological variables. The purple structure here is the cerebrum.