CT Dimensions of the Lacrimal Gland in Graves Orbitopathy

Abstract

The lacrimal gland is statistically significantly enlarged in Graves orbitopathy. Only weak correlation was found between gland enlargement and smoking, proptosis, and inflammatory activity. Future research will address the causal changes of enlargement and their effect on lacrimal function.

Changes of Lacrimal Gland and Tear Inflammatory Cytokines in Thyroid-Associated Ophthalmopathy

“…So far, few studies have involved accurate lacrimal gland measurement to demonstrate its enlargement. 23,24 For the first time, we measured the lacrimal gland on MRI referring to Harris' and Tamboli's methods on CT images, 7,19 and found no difference in terms of age, sex, or between bilateral eyes in the control, which was inconsistent with previous studies 19,23,25 due to the small sample size in the control group.…”

“…18 Measurement of the lacrimal gland was performed on both coronal and axial T1-w sequences with reference to Harris' and Tamboli's methods. 7,19 As the palpebral and orbital lobes are difficult to distinguish on MRI, the lacrimal gland was treated as one structure. In both the coronal and axial series, the image in which the lacrimal gland appeared the largest was preliminarily chosen.…”

Evaluation of Lacrimal Gland Dimensions and Volume in Turkish Population with Computed Tomography

“…It is important to reveal the anatomic characteristics of LGs because much pathology such as sarcoidosis, Sjögren disease, thyroid ophthalmopathy, benign and malign tumors manifest with changes in LG sizes [3,9,10]. Apart from evaluation of the gland particularly, knowing the gland size and imaging characteristics is also important since LG might fall into the head and neck radiologic examination.…”

“…Both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and CT can be used effectively for detection of LG pathologies [3,[8][9][10]. It is important to reveal the anatomic characteristics of LGs because much pathology such as sarcoidosis, Sjögren disease, thyroid ophthalmopathy, benign and malign tumors manifest with changes in LG sizes [3,9,10].…”

Evaluation of Lacrimal Gland Dimensions with MR Imaging in a Turkish Population Sample

“…Computed tomography (CT) has been used traditionally for measuring the lacrimal gland dimensions in the coronal and axial planes, and it is used to assess changes in the size of the gland during the disease process (Tamboli et al, 2011;Harris et al, 2012). However, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging provides high-quality images of the head and neck soft tissue; therefore, it can also be used for the diagnosis and follow-up of lacrimal gland pathologies.…”