Morphometric Analysis of the Sella Turcica and its Variation with Sex and Age among Computed Tomography Scanned Individuals in Soddo Christian Hospital, Ethiopia

• Published in: International journal of anatomy radiology and surgery Vol. 10; no. 2; pp. AO48 - AO51
• Main Authors: Getachew Abebe, Abinet Gebremickael, Prasad Mergu, Sisay Manna, Yilma Chisha, Tamiru Getachew, Teshale Fekadu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: JCDR Research and Publications Pvt. Ltd 01.04.2021
• Subjects: dorsum sellae; linear dimension; pituitary fossa; tuberculum sellae
• ISSN: 2277-8543; 2455-6874
• DOI: 10.7860/IJARS/2021/47047:2652

Introduction: The sella turcica is an important anatomical landmark used for the diagnosis of sellar and parasellar pathology and the evaluation of craniofacial morphology. Sella turcica varies greatly in healthy individuals and a deviation in size and shape can be an indication of the pathology of the pituitary and craniofacial abnormality. Aim: To assess the morphometry of the sella turcica among computed tomography scanned individuals in Soddo Christian Hospital, Ethiopia. Materials and Methods: An institution-based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2019 to October 2019. The data were collected from 496 randomly selected head computed tomography scanned images of individuals who visited the hospital from September 2018 to August 2019. Sella dimension was measured using the radiant DICOM viewer. Independent samples t-test was conducted to compare means among sex and one-way ANOVA was applied to compare the means among age groups. Results: The overall mean length, depth, and anteroposterior diameters were 10.226 mm, 7.124 mm and 11.892 mm, respectively. The evaluated mean length, depth and anteroposterior diameter of sella turcica among males were 10.262 mm, 7.015 mm and 11.849 mm and among females it was found 10.107 mm, 7.479 mm and 12.034 mm, respectively. In the present study, depth of the sella turcica had significant difference among males and females and also sella dimensions were seen to increase with age (p>0.05). Conclusion: Length and antero-posterior diameter were highest as compared to previous studies. Generally, the results of the present study were different from previous studies and further studies in different parts of the country needs to be done, to have normative data on the dimension of sella turcica in Ethiopia.