CT appearance of the adolescent and preadolescent pituitary gland.

Coronal computed tomographic scans of the pituitary gland in 27 normal children, adolescents, and young adults (ages, 8-21 years) and in a comparison group of adults (ages, 24-91 years) were evaluated retrospectively to test the applicability of published criteria for size and configuration of normal adult pituitary glands to younger patients. Statistically significant differences were found between the two groups, indicating that the pituitary gland in adolescents, particularly girls, is larger than in younger or older patients. The authors suggest that pubertal pituitary hyperplasia accounts for these findings. They conclude that standards for normal pituitary glands are probably inappropriate for adolescents.