Anatomico-radiological study of the borderline sella

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Pathology
• Anatomy

Background:

• The sphenoidal bone houses the pituitary gland, a crucial endocrine organ.
• Accurate assessment of pituitary gland health often relies on correlating imaging with histological examination.
• Understanding potential discrepancies is vital for accurate diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between multidirectional thin section tomography findings of the sphenoidal bone and the histological examination of the pituitary gland.
• To determine if minor sellar changes observed radiologically correspond to histopathological abnormalities.

Main Methods:

• Multidirectional thin section tomography was performed on 62 excised sphenoidal bones.
• The pituitary gland from each specimen was subsequently sectioned and microscopically examined.
• Histopathological analysis focused on identifying microadenoma, cellular hyperplasia, or cysts.

Main Results:

• No meaningful correlation was found between radiological imaging findings and histological results.
• Minor sellar changes, including lamina dura irregularity, sellar floor asymmetry, or dorsum sellae thinning, were observed.
• These minor sellar changes can be present without any underlying histopathological abnormality.

Conclusions:

• Radiological findings from sphenoidal bone tomography do not reliably correlate with the histological status of the pituitary gland.
• Minor anatomical variations in the sella turcica may not indicate pituitary pathology.
• This highlights limitations in relying solely on imaging for pituitary gland assessment.