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MENSURATION OF THE PITUITARY GLAND FROM MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGES IN 17 CATS
Author(s) -
Wallack Seth T.,
Wisner Erik R.,
Feldman Edward C.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
veterinary radiology and ultrasound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.541
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1740-8261
pISSN - 1058-8183
DOI - 10.1111/j.1740-8261.2003.tb00455.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cats , magnetic resonance imaging , pituitary gland , anatomy , radiology , hormone
The objective of this retrospective study was to estimate using magnetic resonance imaging the size range of the pituitary gland in cats who had no evidence of pituitary disease. The pituitary gland was measured from transverse and sagittal magnetic resonance postgadolinium T 1 ‐weighted images in 17 cats. The cats were 0.83 to 15 years of age and weighed between 2.9 and 6.5 kg. Linear pituitary measurements were performed on a dedicated workstation using electronic calipers. Mean (± standard deviation) pituitary gland length was 0.54 cm (± 0.06 cm) and mean width was 0.50 cm (± 0.08 cm). Mean pituitary gland height measured on sagittal images was 0.34 cm (± 0.05) and measured on transverse images was 0.32 cm (± 0.04 cm). Mean pituitary volume was 0.05 cm 3 (± 0.01 cm 3 ). There was no significant correlation between cat weight (kg) and pituitary volume or age and pituitary volume. The pituitary gland appearance varied on pre‐ and postcontrast T 1 ‐weighted images. On the precontrast images, the majority of pituitary glands had a mixed signal intensity. On postcontrast images, uniform pituitary gland enhancement was seen commonly.