The sellar and suprasellar region has a central location in the base of skull.
It consists of fine and complex neurovascular structures.
Understanding anatomy can help to develop a differential diagnosis.
The pituitary fossa contains the pituitary gland,
consisting of adenohypophysis and neurohypophysis.
- Pituitary gland size (height) varies with age and gender: 6 mm in children,
8 mm in men and postmenopausal women,
10 mm in premenopausal and up to 12 mm in lactating women.
The most common pituitary abnormalities are pituitary adenoma,
Rathke's cyst,
and craniopharyngioma.
- Pituitary stalk is a vertically oriented structure that connects the pituitary to the brain. It is thinner at the bottom and thicker at the top.
There are some abnormalities that can affect the pituitary gland in children,
such as germinomas and granulomas.
- Above the sellar region several suprasellar neurovascular structures cross this area,
including the optic nerves and chiasm,
hypothalamus.
The most common abnormalities of hypothalamus are gliomas,
germinomas and granulomas.
- Parasellar region is composed of the cavernous sinus containing the carotid artery and nervous structures.
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