Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PIT-U'I-TA-RY, a. [L. pituita, phlegm, rheum; Gr. πτυω, to spit.]

That secretes phlegm or mucus; as, the pituitary membrane. Med. Repos. The pituitary gland is a small oval body on the lower side of the brain; erroneously supposed by the ancients to secrete the mucus of the nostrils. – Parr. Quincy.