The normal microscopic appearance of the pituitary gland is shown above. The anterior lobe (adenohypophysis) stains darker and the posterior lobe (neurohypophysis) stains lighter.  This is the view under a dissecting microscope.

The slide above is the neurohypophysis, named this because it resembles neural tissue.

The slide below is the normal microscopic appearance of the adenohypophysis. The adenohypophysis contains three major cell types:  acidophils, basophils, and chromophobes.