Magnetic resonance imaging of sellar and juxtasellar abnormalities: atypical findings of common diseases and typical findings of rare diseases

The sellar/juxtasellar region comprises the bone component of the sella turcica, pituitary gland, cavernous sinus, and suprasellar cistern. Abnormalities in this region can be attributed to underproduction or overproduction of hormones or to the neurological signs and symptoms resulting from the compression of adjacent structures. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is currently the imaging method of choice, having supplanted computed tomography. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the common and uncommon imaging aspects of sellar and juxtasellar changes, which could facilitate the differential diagnosis. We retrospectively evaluated the MRI scans of 70 patients with sellar/juxtasellar abnormalities from didactic files, and report those with more unusual changes, where MRI played an important role in diagnosis. All cases were confirmed histologically or clinical laboratory.