Incidence of different morphological types of sella turcica: Cephalometric study

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Sella turcica (ST) is a saddle-shaped structure located on the intracranial surface of the sphenoid bone in the middle cranial fossa. The sella turcica serves as an important anatomical reference in orthodontics partly because the s-point, placed centrally in the sella region, is a central fix point in cephalometric analysis and partly because the contour of the anterior wall is used in evaluation of craniofacial growth. Morphologically, three basic types - oval, round, and flat - have been classified, the oval and round types being the most common. Aim and objectives: To describe the predominant morphological shape of sella turcica. Materials and methods: Prospective clinical study which was conducted in the Postgraduate Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology of Government Dental College and Hospital Srinagar. This prospective study included total of digital lateral cephalometric radiographs of 180 patients (90 males and 90 females) between 12-65 years of age, Digital lateral cephalometric radiographs were taken by using CARESTREAM SC8100 machine Results: Morphology of sella turcica was found to be typical in just 33.9% of cases. Within the atypical sellae most had oblique anterior wall (27.2%), followed by double contour of the floor (15%), pyramidal shape (14.4%), irregular dorsum sella (6.7%) and bridging (2.8%). Conclusion: Morphological types of sella turcica in this study can be used as reference for additional investigators such as radiologists, orthodontists, maxillofacial surgeons, and neurosurgeons to interpret and plan surgical procedures involving the sellar region