What does diaphragma sellae mean?
The diaphragma sellae is a sheet of dura mater that forms the roof of the pituitary fossa. It is described as a two-layer sheet of dura mater that merges anteriorly with the dura covering the planum sphenoidale and the anterior cranial fossa and posteriorly with the dura covering the dorsum sellae and the clivus.
What passes through the diaphragma sellae?
The diaphragma sellae or sellar diaphragm is a flat piece of dura mater with a circular hole allowing the vertical passage of the pituitary stalk. It retains the pituitary gland beneath it in the fossa hypophyseos as it almost completely roofs the fossa hypophyseos of the sella turcica, a part of the sphenoid bone.
Which structure passes through the center of the diaphragma sellae?
The diaphragma sellae forms the roof of the sella turcica (see Figure 10-1). It covers the pituitary gland, except for a small central opening in its center, which transmits the pituitary stalk.
What is Tuberculum Sella?
The tuberculum sellae forms the anterior wall of the sella turcica, which houses the pituitary gland. It is an elongated ridge located immediately posterior to the chiasmatic groove, hence is related to the optic chiasm and anterior portions of the optic tracts.
What is a Craniopharyngioma?
(KRAY-nee-oh-fuh-RIN-jee-OH-muh) A rare, benign (not cancer) brain tumor that usually forms near the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus. Craniopharyngiomas are slow-growing and do not spread to other parts of the brain or to other parts of the body.
What is sella turcica?
The sella turcica is a saddle-shaped depression located in the bone at the base of skull (sphenoid bone), in which resides the pituitary gland.
Where is situated hypophyseal fossa?
sphenoid bone
T he hypophyseal fossa is situated in the center of the base of the skull. It is located in the sella turcica of the sphenoid bone, between the two cavernous sinuses laterally, and contains the hypophysis.
Where is a tuberculum sellae meningioma?
Tuberculum sellae meningiomas (TSMs) arise from the tuberculum sellae, a bony structure along the midline skull base located just anterior and inferior to the optic chiasm.
What is dorsum sellae?
The dorsum sellae is the square shaped process of the sphenoid bone. It ascends superiorly from the posterior part of the sphenoid body to form the posterior wall of the sella turcica.
Is craniopharyngioma life threatening?
Many experts consider craniopharyngiomas to be a chronic disease, as they tend to recur even when they have been completely removed (resected) surgically. The tumor itself is usually not dangerous, as it is benign and only very rarely becomes malignant.
How serious is a craniopharyngioma?
The low-grade tumor grows slowly but can cause serious illness. These tumors often form very close to important parts of the brain, such as the optic pathway, which controls vision. Craniopharyngiomas can also affect hormone levels since they form near the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland.
What is diaphragma sellae?
Diaphragma sellae. The diaphragma sellae or sellar diaphragm is a flat piece of dura mater with a circular hole allowing the vertical passage of the pituitary stalk. It retains the pituitary gland beneath it in the fossa hypophyseos as it almost completely roofs the fossa hypophyseos of the sella turcica, a part of the sphenoid bone.
What nerve innervates the diaphragma sellae?
The diaphragma sellae is innervated by the first division of the cranial trigeminal nerve . Violation of the diaphragma sellae during an endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal pituitary tumor resection will result in a cerebrospinal fluid leak.
What happens to the diaphragma sellae during a transsphenoidal pituitary tumor resection?
Violation of the diaphragma sellae during an endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal pituitary tumor resection will result in a cerebrospinal fluid leak. Dura mater and its processes exposed by removing part of the right half of the skull, and the brain.
What is the pathophysiology of empty sella?
A deficiency of the diaphragma sellae is assumed to be a precondition to formation of an empty sella. An outpouching of the arachnoid protrudes through the central opening in the diaphragma into the sella turcica in about half of the patients.