Shapes and Sizes of Sella Turcica Using Computerized Tomography (CT) from Tertiary Hospital in Sokoto, Nigeria

Abstract

Cephalometry deals with measurement of body parts or radiological specimen. Sella turcica is an important anatomical structure located in the middle cranial fossa, housing the pituitary gland. Various shapes and sizes of the sellae turcica were reported. In this study, using computerized tomographic (CT) scans from a tertiary hospital, one hundred and seventy five (175) scans were analyzed using Radiant version 4.2 (Medixant 2017) for determination of sizes and shapes of the sella. Average dimensions from the study include: Length (12.4 mm), A-P diameter (14.1 mm), depth (9.6 mm) and transverse diameter (13.8 mm). Shapes were classified as being round (56.6%), oval (32%) and flat (11.4%). In another classification of shape variation, the findings are: Normal (68.6%), anterior oblique (9.1%), pyramidal (6.9%), double contour floor (5.7%), notching on the posterior wall (5.1%) and sella bridge (4.6%). Males tend to have higher sella sizes than females and there is statistical significant difference between them especially in respect to A-P diameter and length parameters. However, there is no sex predilection to shapes.

Radio-Morphometric Analysis of Sella Turcica in Relation to Age and Gender in Sri Ganganagar Population: A Prospective Cephalometric Study

“…Usman et al [26] found that the normal shape was the most common form of ST in their studied population.…”

“…Usman et al [ 26 ] found that the normal shape was the most common form of ST in their studied population. The findings in this study are consistent with other studies where the normal shape was also the most common form of ST, with the oblique shape being the second most common variation morphology of ST [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”

“…The findings in this study are consistent with other studies where the normal shape was also the most common form of ST, with the oblique shape being the second most common variation morphology of ST [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. In Usman et al [ 26 ], the mean length, depth, and AP diameter of ST in male participants were 9.82 mm, 8.89 mm, and 12.93 mm, respectively. The values for female participants were slightly lesser at 9.64 mm, 8.28 mm, and 12.03 mm for length, depth, and AP diameter, respectively.…”

Metric Analysis of Sella Turcica for Sex Identification Using Multidetector Computed Tomography in a Sample of Adult Egyptians.

“…Indian males had larger Sella length, depth, APD compared to female with significant difference for depth only (Gargi et al, 2019). Nigerian males had significantly larger Sella length and APD compared to females (Usman et al, 2020). Sella length was significantly larger in Italian males compared to females (De Donno et al, 2021).…”

Radiographic Analysis of Morphological Variations of Sella Turcica in Different Skeletal Patterns Among Saudi Subpopulations

“…In contrast, Sathyanarayana et al, 1 Al-Mohana et al 4 and Axelsson et al 7 observed a significant difference only in the length of the sella between the genders, whereas Ghaida et al 23 observed only a significant difference in the height of the sella. According to Usman et al, 24 computerized tomography was used to analyze the dimensions of the sella and concluded that males possess significantly larger sellae than females, especially regarding diameters and lengths. From approximately 1 to 13 years of age, Silverman 10 found that males had a larger pituitary fossa than females.…”