were being examined for some other disorder were studied. The sizes of the masses were between five and 25 millimeters. Those who were not treated surgically underwent CT scans and MRIs to monitor their condition. Follow-up studies were done every 12 months and earlier in patients with larger tumors.
High-resolution CT scanning of the pituitary fossa in 2 mm sections was carried out after intravenous contrast material was administered (Reincke, Allolio, Saeger, Menzel and Winkelmann, 1990). The primary mass was discovered by CT in 17 patients and in four patients by MRI. On coronal CT scans in 11 patients, an intrasellar soft-tissue mass was discovered which was greater than 10 mm in diameter. Five patients exhibited uniformly isodense lesions, five had mixed density lesions, and one had a uniformly hypodense lesion. In seven patients, the CT scans showed a small lesion, less than 10 mm in diameter, within the sella turcica.
This study showed that the pituitary region can be easily evaluated by high-resolution CT scanning and MRI imaging (Reincke, Allolio, Saeger, Menzel and Winkelmann, 1990). It is best shown on CT scans either directly on coronal scans or indirectly from data obtained in the axial plane and reformatted into coronal and sagittal images. In patients with tumors less than 10 mm in diameter, CT scanning is of less value in localizing the lesion. MRI imaging has been shown to be better than CT scanning to evaluate large pituitary tumors.
The characteristics of pituitary tumors on CT scans can be mimicked by aneurysms, parasellar meningiomas, and craniopharyngiomas, especially large pituitary adenomas with suprasellar extension (Reincke, Allolio, Saeger, Menzel and Winkelmann, 1990). However, these generally present a characteristic array of findings on CT scans which allows differential diagnosis. In patients with suspected microadenomas, artifacts may mimic low-density lesions on CT scans....