PITUITARY DIMENSIONS AND VOLUME MEASUREMENTS IN PREGNANCY AND POST-PARTUM - MR ASSESSMENT

Purpose: Our purpose was to clarify and further characterize the chang es in height, length, width, volume, and shape in the normal pituitary gland and in width in the infundibulum during pregnancy and the first 6 months post partum. Material and Methods: Cranial MR imaging was pe rformed in 78 women who were pregnant in the second or third trimester or who were post partum, and in 18 age-matched control subjects who w ere not pregnant. Volume measurements were performed in 2 ways; volume 1=1/2xheightxlengthxwidth; and volume 2=area (measured by trackball)x slice thickness. Results: Gland volume, height, width, length, and con vexity, and infundibular width increased during pregnancy. The highest values were seen during the 3 days immediately post partum. When comp ared with volunteers, volumes 1 and 2 showed the largest increase (120 %) among the parameters. Gland height showed the best correlation (r=0 .94, p<0.00001) with gestational age. The mean height of the gland was 8.76 mm in the third trimester. None of the pregnant women had a glan d height of above 10 mm during pregnancy. Only 2 subjects had gland he ights of 10.04 and 10.2 mm during the 0-3 days post partum. After this first post-partum period of 3 days, the gland size, shape, and volume and the infundibular width returned to normal within 6 months. Conclu sion: The pituitary gland enlarges in three dimensions throughout preg nancy. During pregnancy, the volume of the gland shows the highest per centage of increase compared to its length, height, and width. The max imum height of the gland does not exceed 10 mm during pregnancy but it may exceed 10 mm during the 3 days immediately post partum.