[Organ culture as a model for human pituitary tumour research (author's transl)].

The organ culture technique based on material obtained from individual human pituitary tumours represents a model for the preservation of tissue in organotypic differentiation in which the tissue can be studied in the absence of vascular, hypothalamic and other neurogenic influences. In the organ culture system, four criteria are fulfilled: (1) preserved morphology at the light and electron microscopic levels, (2) preserved synthesis/secretion of those hormones as found in vivo (3) the same reactivity in vitro to physiological stimulators/inhibitors (TRH, LH-RH and dopamine) as in vivo (4) preservation of the same cell phase in the cell cycle and the same DNA content in cells in vitro as in vivo.