MRI of the pituitary gland: how to correctly analyze the results of the study

The diagnostic process of any pathology, including endocrine, has now been greatly simplified. The emergence of new diagnostic methods in recent decades has made it possible to timely and most informatively identify the pathological conditions of various organs and systems. Magnetic resonance imaging is the most informative method of radiation diagnostics, which makes it possible to detect even the most minor structural changes in organs. It is this method that is currently widely used to diagnose diseases of the hypothalamic-pituitary system. How to correctly analyze the results of MRI of the pituitary gland – read today at estet-portal.com.

Secrets of effective diagnostics: what can be seen on MRI of the pituitary gland

The main goal of MRI of the pituitary gland is to determine the shape, size and structure of pituitary neoplasms, as well as their relationship with the surrounding anatomical formations. The main indication for MRI of the pituitary gland – this is the appearance of symptoms of endocrine diseases, which could presumably be caused by pathological processes of the hypothalamic-pituitary system of a tumor or non-tumor nature. With the help of magnetic resonance imaging, it is possible to visualize in detail all changes in the structure of the pituitary gland and, after analyzing them, establish a diagnosis for the patient.

Pituitary MRI:

• MRI of the pituitary gland: what the organ looks like in a normal state;
• signs of tumor formations during MRI of the pituitary gland;
• signs of non-tumor pathologies during MRI of the pituitary gland.

MRI of the pituitary gland: what the organ looks like in a normal state

First and foremost, practitioners should be aware of the characteristics of normal findings on a pituitary MRI scan:

• in the frontal plane, the shape of the pituitary gland is close to rectangular;
• the lower contour of the pituitary gland repeats the shape of the Turkish saddle, and the upper one can be horizontal, convex or concave;
• in the sagittal plane, the shape of the normal pituitary gland is ellipsoid, its lobes are well differentiated;
• sagittal and transverse dimensions are determined by the size of the Turkish saddle, and the vertical – about 4-8mm;
• on frontal sections, the pituitary gland is often symmetrical;
• The pituitary infundibulum is normally located most often in the midline.

Signs of tumor formations during MRI of the pituitary gland

When performing MRI of the pituitary gland, such signs of tumors of the chiasmal-sellar region are well visualized: deformation of the bottom of the Turkish saddle, asymmetry and bulging of the pituitary gland contour, displacement of the infundibulum, heterogeneity of the structure of the organ. All these signs do not unequivocally indicate the presence of a tumor, so they must be analyzed together with the results of dynamic observation and the features of the clinical picture of the pathology in a particular patient. According to the nature of the distribution of pituitary tumors are divided as follows:

• endosellar – do not go beyond the Turkish saddle;
• suprasellar – grow into the suprasellar cistern;
• parasellar – grow into cavernous sinuses;
• infrasellar – grow in the sinus of the main bone;
• retroselling – grow into the cistern of the brain, destroying the back of the Turkish saddle;
• antesellar – grow into cells of the ethmoid labyrinth, mediobasal parts of the frontal lobes and nasal passages.

 

Signs of non-tumor pathologies during MRI of the pituitary gland

Depending on the results of the MRI of the pituitary gland, the following non-tumor pathologies of this organ can be suspected:

• thinning of the pituitary gland, its flattening along the bottom of the Turkish saddle due to sagging of the cistern of the decussation allows us to suspect the syndrome of an empty Turkish saddle;
• in the presence of diabetes insipidus, the patient may experience signs of an inflammatory or tumor lesion of the hypothalamic-pituitary system, as well as the absence of a hyperintense signal from the neurohypophysis in idiopathic diabetes insipidus;
• Ectopic neurohypophysis, hypoplasia of the adenohypophysis, and aplasia or hypoplasia of the pituitary stalk are in most cases signs of GH insufficiency.