Imaging diagnosis: pituitary apoplexy in a cat

A 7-year-old male neutered domestic short-haired cat had depression for 5 months and acute blindness. A lesion at the level of the rostral and middle cranial fossae was suspected. A large pituitary mass compressing the optic chiasm was detected in magnetic resonance images and there was also evidence of recent intratumoral hemorrhage, leading to a diagnosis of pituitary apoplexy; these findings were confirmed at postmortem examination. Pituitary apoplexy is a clinical syndrome characterized by acute neurologic signs related to hemorrhagic infarction within a pituitary tumor. Pituitary apoplexy should be considered in patients with acute onset of blindness and altered mental status.