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Age‐Related Incidence of Pineal Gland Calcification in Children: A Roentgenological Study of 1,044 Skull Films and a Review of the Literature
Author(s) -
Winkler Peter,
Helmke Knut
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
journal of pineal research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.881
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1600-079X
pISSN - 0742-3098
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-079x.1987.tb00862.x
Subject(s) - calcification , skull , pineal gland , incidence (geometry) , medicine , anatomy , melatonin , pathology , physics , optics
Anterior‐posterior and lateral skull roentgenograms of 1,044 children aged 0–18 yr were examined for pineal gland calcification. Eighty children with pineal calcification were identified. Cranial computed tomograms (CCT) existing for half of the 80 cases provided confirmation. In contrast to existing reports on pineal calcification in the first decade of life, we found a significant percentage of “physiological” calcification even between 0 and 6 yr of age (range 2.9–4.2%). Contrary to current opinion we were not able to detect any signs of pineal gland tumors in these cases. We were able to confirm other reports which note a steep rise of the incidence of pineal calcification during the second decade of life.