To understand the development of postpartum pituitary infarction, one has to consider that the pituitary gland becomes hyperplastic (approximately doubling in mass) during pregnancy as a result of progressive lactotroph…
A wide variety of conditions may cause dysfunction of the hypothalamus or pituitary, leading to selective or universal, partial or complete, acute or chronic loss of adenohypophyseal hormone secretion (anterior…
Pituitary macroadenomas, which, by definition, exceed 10 mm in greatest diameter, may cause multiple anterior pituitary hormone deficiencies but only rarely cause diabetes insipidus preoperatively. In contrast, large suprasellar tumors…
A variety of mass lesions may arise within the sella. In addition to benign pituitary adenomas, which account for approximately 90% of mass lesions in surgical series, there are a…
Oxytocin and antidiuretic hormone (vasopressin) are made by distinct populations of large (magnocellular) neurons in both the paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic (SON) nuclei, which release the hormones from their axons…
The optic chiasm rests superiorly to the diaphragma sellae. Nerve fibers originating in the nasal portion of each retina cross at the chiasm to the contralateral side and join ipsilateral…
The gland is composed of the adenohypophysis and the neurohypophysis, which are embryologically, anatomically, and functionally distinct. The former derives from the Rathke’s pouch, an ectodermal outgrowth of the primordial…
Clinical Presentation. Pronounced snoring, a classic indicator for possible sleep apnea is related to vibration of upper airway tissue. Apnea occurs when the upper airway obstruction becomes complete. There is…
The cause of narcolepsy was quite mysterious until a new neurotransmitter, orexin (also called hypocretin) was discovered in 1998. The orexin neurons are found in the lateral hypothalamic area. They…
PERIODIC LIMB MOVEMENTS OF SLEEP (PLMS) Typically, the patient experiences repeated very brief episodic leg movements ranging from simple great toe dorsiflexion to violent flexion of the entire lower extremity….
