Size, shape, and appearance of the normal female pituitary gland.

S. M. Wolpert*, M. E. Molitch, J. A. Goldman, J. B. Wood

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

58 Scopus citations

Abstract

One hundred seven women 18-65 years old were studied who were referred for suspected central nervous system disease not related to the pituitary gland or hypothalamus. High-resolution, direct, coronal, contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) was used to examine the size, shape, and density of the normal pituitary gland. There were three major conclusions: (1) the height of the normal gland can be as much as 9 mm; (2) the superior margin of the gland may bulge in normal patients; and (3) both large size and convex contour appear to be associated with younger age. It was also found that serum prolactin levels do not appear to correlate with the CT appearances. Both low- and high-density areas were seen within the gland, and may be due to either tumors, cysts, infarcts, or metastases. Noise artifacts inherent in high-detail, thin-section, soft-tissue scanning may be a limiting factor in defining reproducible patterns in different parts of the normal pituitary gland.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)377-381
Number of pages5
JournalAJR. American journal of roentgenology
Volume143
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1984

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging

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