J Korean Radiol Soc.  1987 Jun;23(3):337-345. 10.3348/jkrs.1987.23.3.337.

CT evaluation of the normal pituitary gland

• Yoon CS
• Suh JH
• Kim DI
• Park CY
• Lee KC

• KMID: 2359517
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3348/jkrs.1987.23.3.337

Abstract

Direct coronal CT with 1.5mm contiguous scanning was done in total 95 cases, who had no clinical evidence ofpituitary and hypothalamic disease. The evaluation of pituitary height, width, upper surface contour and denstiywas done and the pituitary stalk was also evaluated,. The results as follow: 1. Total 95 cases were 45 males and 50 females. 2. The average height of normal pituitary gland was 5.72±1.44mm in female and 5.37±1.17mm in male,There was no significant difference of pituitary height betwen male and female(p>0.1). 3. The pituitary height wasdecreased according to the increased age both in male and female except prepubertal age. 4. The group between15-30 year old age showed significantly increased pituitary height comparing to the remained age group both inmale and female(p<0.05 in male, p<0.01 in female). 5. The upper limit of normal pituitary height in 95% confidencelevel was 7.95-0.011xage in female and 7.4-0.013xage in male. 6. The upper surface contour normal pituitary glandwere convex in 1 cases(14.7%), flat in 58 cases(61.3%) and concave in 23 cases(24%). There was a significantcorrelation between the height and upper surface contour of pituitary gland(p<0.01). 7. The average width ofnormal pituitary gland was 13.4±1.74mm in female and 13.69±2.3mm in male. There was no significant difference between those of female and male(p>0.1) 8. The focal low density of normal pituitary gland was noted inn only 8.4%and its size was always below 3mm. 9. The pituitary stalk can be seen in 94.7% by direct coronal CT scanning andit was located at the midline. The width of pituitary stalk was always smaller than internal carotid artery and basilar artery. 10. There were no significant difference in pituitary height and width according to the menopauseor the marriage.

MeSH Terms

Basilar Artery
Carotid Artery, Internal
Female
Humans
Hypothalamic Diseases
Male
Marriage
Pituitary Gland*
Tomography, X-Ray Computed