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

BACKGROUND: Size and shape of the sella turcica is considered vital for many radiographic analyses. OBJECTIVES: To assess and compare the linear dimensions and shape of sella turcica on digital lateral cephalograms in Saudi subpopulation with different skeletal patterns, age groups and genders. METHODOLOGY: A total of 300 digital lateral cephalograms were retrieved from the hospital archive. The selected cephalograms were grouped based on the age, gender, and skeletal types. The linear dimensions and shape of sella turcica were measured on each radiograph. Data were analyzed using an independent t-test and a one-way ANOVA. To test the inter-relationship of age, gender, and skeletal type with the dimensions of sella turcica, regression analyses were used. Statistical significance was set at P ≤ 0.01. RESULTS: Significant differences in linear dimensions between the age groups (P < 0.001) and genders (P < 0.001) were noted. On comparing sella size with different skeletal types, a significant difference was found for all sella dimensions (P < 0.001). The mean length, depth and diameter among skeletal class III were significantly higher than that among classes I and II. On comparing age, gender, and skeletal type with size of sella, age and skeletal type were significantly related to the change of length, depth and diameter (P < 0.001), whereas gender was found to be significantly related only to a change in length of the sella (P < 0.01). For the sella shape, normal morphology was noted in 44.3% of patients. CONCLUSION: According to the findings of this study, the measurements of sella can be used as reference standards for future studies in Saudi subpopulation.