How can the pituitary gland be damaged?
2 Answers
The pituitary gland can be damaged via a variety of different mechanisms...
Explanation:
The point I'd like to lead on, is that the pituitary gland is a small structure that is suspended from the hypothalamus by a delicate stalk. This gland is so important, that it has what I like to refer to as its own little 'throne', i.e. the sella turcica.
(To be fair, it's actually more like a little egg-cup that the gland sits in)
Now, I'd like you to try and picture something for me, if you would; even better if you have modelling clay available to try it yourself.
Imagine that you have an egg-cup, and that you have a small lump of clay that is not quite big enough that you are able to dangle it into the egg-cup in such a way that it leaves a small amount of space all around it. You can see imagine that it's protected by the walls of the egg cup, right? That's the pituitary gland.
Now add a little extra clay to the amount that you have, and you'll find that the lump no longer has any space between it and the egg-cup - but it still fits. Only now, it's practically pressing against the sides.
Now add more clay to the lump, and force it into the egg-cup. You should be able to see that the clay now fills the egg-cup up completely, only the walls of the egg-cup are solid, so the soft, pliable clay is starting to spill out.
Hopefully this will help you to understand how soft-tissues within a fixed-container such as the skull tend to react when they become inflamed.
So what might cause this?
Head trauma can cause the pituitary gland to become inflamed. Once it expands enough that it fills the sella turcica , it has nowhere else to go, and if the inflammation isn't stopped, the pituitary gland will eventually become damaged.
The same could potentially occur if there was a bleeding or an infection in the brain.
Finally, it could be that a tumour begins to develop on the pituitary gland itself, and as it expands, it would be once again be confined to the sella turcica until it fills the space and begins to bulge out.
The damage of the pituitary gland and hypothalamus can be caused by Tumors which can results to loss of function...
Explanation:
Damage to the pituitary gland may also be caused by radiation, surgery, infections such as meningitis, and other conditions..
