Radiological anatomy of the sella turcica and sphenoid sinus

ABSTRACT

A descriptive, analytic study was conducted among Saudi adult, who presented to two major causalty units, King Fahd Hospital of the University [Al Khobar], and Al Mouwasat Hospital [Dammam]. One hundred skull x-rays of Saudi adults were selected for studying the dimensional and structural anatomy of the sella turcica and the types of sphenoid sinus. The dimensional anatomy of the sella turcica included the length and depth and the structural anatomy classified the shape. The sphenoid sinus was classified according to the degree of pneumatisation. The study material included 50 males and 50 females, with a mean age of 33 years. The mean length of the sella turcica was 12.8 mm and the mean depth was 8.5 mm. Rounded sella turcica was most frequently encountered and seen in 52 individuals, followed by the C-shaped in 29, and the J-shaped sella turcica seen in 19 individuals. None of this adult group had conchal type sphenoid sinus, 37 had pre-sellar types, and 63 individuals had the sellar type sphenoid sinus. This is the first study in Saudi Arabia looking into the normal radiological variation of the sella turcica and sphenoid sinus, in both shape and dimensions, among the Saudi population