Pituitary Path Flashcards
What percentage of cells in anterior pituitary normally produce growth hormone
Almost 50%
What is seen in normal anterior pituitar histology
Chords of cells with round, small nuclei and granulary cytoplasm (acidophiles, basophils, and chromophobes)
Richly vascular
How does trauma cause hypopituitarism?
Stalk is easily damaged and broken in trauma
How much of the anterior lobe must be lost in an infarction to cause symptoms
About 75%
Why does a pituitary infarction usually involve the anterior lobe
Due to vascular supply
Causes of pituitary infarction
Sheehan syndrome
Cerebral infarction
Pituitary hemhorrage
Increased intracranial pressure
What is Sheehan syndrome
Post-partum hypopituitarism due to necrosis of the gland from peripartum shock
Symptoms of sheehan syndrome
Lactation failure, amenorrhea, asthenia, premature aging
What is seen here?
Pituitary infarct
Type of inflammatory pituitary lesions seen?
Acute inflammation- sinusitis, osteomyelitis
Granulomatous- TB, fungal, sarcoid
Lymphocytic- autoimmune
Where do granulomatous diseases in the brain tend to locate to?
Near the base of the brain
What is seen here?
Sarcoidosis of the pituitary
Characteristic tight naked granulomas
Characterisitc of pituitary sarcoidosis
Tight naked granulomas with epitheloid histeocytes and giant cells
Most common cause of hyperpituitarism
Pituitary adenomas (10% of intracranial neoplasms)
Who gets pituitary adenomas
People 35-60 years old
Mutation often seen in pituitary adenomas
G-protein signaling hyperactivity
About 40% of somatotroph cell adenomas have what mutation?
GNAS- leading to constitutive actiong of Ga, cAMP, and cellular proliferation
What is seen here?
Pituitary prolacinoma
Sheet of relatively monomorphic cells
What is seen here?
Adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma
Nests chords and cyts of sqaumos epithelium with “wet keratine” and calcification
3: brown cholesterol rich fluid (machine oils)
