Abstract :
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a valuable diagnostic modality in evaluating the pituitary gland, which varies between normal individuals depending upon age, gender, hormonal status, and ethnic factors. The objective is to study pituitary gland's shape and size changes concerning age and gender-related of adult Sudanese population using MRI. This study is a cross-sectional conducted in Sudan at Al Amal national hospital. MRI evaluated 100 individuals of varying age and normal pituitary gland. Mid-sagittal and axial sequences were used to measure the gland's Height, length, and width, whereas the volume was calculated using these parameters. Data were stratified into four groups based on age and gender to detect the variances. Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS version 16. The mean volume of the pituitary gland was 411.44±86.06cc. Furthermore, the mean values of pituitary length, Height, and width were 11.33±1.39 mm, 5.97±0.92 mm, and 12.24±1.63mm, respectively. There is a significant difference in mean sagittal length measurement in different gender; the male had a more sagittal length of the pituitary gland than the female, while the female had more sagittal depth than the male. There was a significant difference in mean sagittal depth measurement in different age groups (p-value = 0.001*), the younger adult in the age group 20-30 years had more depth than other age groups. The sagittal length increased gradually with age, while the sagittal depth is decreased significantly with increasing age. The PG's concave shape is more prevalent in females than in males. The study concluded that the shape and size of the normal pituitary gland varies and is influenced by age. The pituitary gland in females have prominent convex shape and is slightly larger pituitary height than males. The pituitary volume and depth (Height) decreased after the first thirty years of life due to the effects of aging and the gland's physiological change.
