Rathke’s pouch /rät″kēz/ [Martin H. Rathke, German anatomist, 1793–1860; OFr, pouche] , a depression that forms in the roof of the mouth of an embryo, anterior to the buccopharyngeal membrane, around the fourth week of gestation. The walls of the diverticulum develop into the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland.
