Pituitary adenoma

Pituitary adenomas are tumors that occur in the pituitary gland, and account for about 15% of intracranial neoplasms. Tumors which exceed 10 mm in size are defined as macroadenomas, and those smaller than 10 mm are referred to as microadenomas. Most pituitary adenomas are microadenomas, which often remain undiagnosed, and have an estimated prevalence of 16.7% (14.4% in autopsy studies and 22.5% in radiologic studies). It was previously believed that clinically active pituitary adenomas were rare, however recent studies have suggested that clinically active pituitary adenomas affect approximately one in 1000 of the general population. The pituitary gland or hypophysis is often referred to as the "master gland" of the human body. Part of...