Pituitary Fossa

Pituitary gland: what is it?

The pituitary gland is an endocrine organ that is located in a depression located just above the visual thalamus of the brain. This organ is located in a bony pocket - in the sphenoid-turkish sinus. It weighs 0.7 grams, has a height of up to 1.3 cm, a width of up to 4 mm, and a length of up to 7 mm.

Pituitary gland diseases. Most often, pathologies of the central nervous system arise due to disorders of the hypothalamic structures. With organic lesions of the hypothalamus, acromegaly, gigantism and other painful conditions can develop. The causes of the disease are head injuries, tumors, neuroinfections and tumor formations of the hypothalamic region, inflammatory processes of the basal brain structures, and hemodynamic disorders.

There are several types of such tumors:

Pituitary adenoma is a benign tumor;

Pituitary angioreticuloma - is an accumulation of blood vessels of various sizes in the pituitary gland;

empty sella syndrome - reduction in the size of the sella cavity; in the center it is always deeper than at the edges. In many cases, only the pituitary gland is intact, and the distance between the lower edge of the pituitary gland and the chiasmatic plate can remain up to 20 mm; in Sheehan's syndrome, the lesion usually lies closer to the occipital bone, and a wide pons of the brain is often observed; in women, the pituitary gland can reach a size of 5.0 x 6.3 x 9 mm. Lymphatic spaces are cystically dilated; the soft medulla, replacing them, comes into direct contact with the membranes. A cohesive brain formation leaves a gap between the chiama and its membranes; the posterior inferior cerebellar artery in the caudal part of the pons is pushed towards its bottom, narrowing the cerebrospinal fluid cavity. Focal cortical dystrophic changes, hemorrhages in the white matter of the frontal lobes and the insula are observed.

**Pituitary karma** (lat. fóssa hypophýsealis) - a small fossa on the inner surface of the temporal bone of the skull at the base of the sphenoid bone above the pituitary gland; seat of the anterior pituitary gland. It is located between the anterior end of the middle meningeal fold (meningealem vomerale), extending from the dura mater of the pituitary fossa and the bony part of the lesser wing of the sphenoid sinus, separated from it by a sheet of connective tissue septum (septum sphenoidale).