The Classification, Clinical Value and Mechanism of Sella Turcica Changes in Raised Intracranial Pressure

The radiographs and notes of 388 patients suffering from ntracranial tumours at a distance from the sella have been reviewed. An additional 212 patients with intracranial tumours were reviewed simply to record the position of the anterior end of the 3rd ventricle and the condition of the pituitary fossa. Various changes in the sella and its vicinity due to raised intracranial pressure may be classified into three categories. This classification provides some limited help in the localisation of tumours. Twenty per cent of patients with pressure changes in the sella due to tumours at a distance from the sella do not have papilloedema. Many of these tumours are slow-growing and benign and first-class radiography is of great importance in discovering them. A mechanism which may operate in causing erosion of the lamina dura is suggested.