Location and what it does
I got this information from visiting https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/
Had a good read and figured I could share their page and some of the information I found there.
Where is the pituitary gland located and what does it do?
There is a pea-sized structure at the base of the brain called the pituitary gland. It doesn’t look like much and it could be easy to overlook, but don’t underestimate the power of the pituitary gland. Small, yet mighty, this “master endocrine gland” is part of the endocrine system and produces critical hormones that affect a whole host of functions in the body. Hormones made by the pituitary help control growth, blood pressure, certain functions of the sex organs, thyroid glands and metabolism as well as some aspects of pregnancy, childbirth, nursing, water/salt concentration and the kidneys, temperature regulation and pain relief.
Pituitary adenomas are non-cancerous (benign), usually slow-growing tumors that develop on the pituitary gland and which cause various symptoms depending on the type of adenoma and whether there is an over- or under-production of hormones.
Tumor removal is most commonly performed by minimally invasive surgery using the transsphenoid approach (also called endoscopic endonasal approach). This involves accessing the brain via the nose and the sphenoid bone which is a butterfly-shaped bone at the base of the skull leading to the sphenoidal sinus cavity. Doctors insert the endoscope and surgical instruments through the nostril and are able to reach and extract the tumor causing minimal disturbance to surrounding brain tissues and structures.
During my previous surgery, they drained the cyst. After the content of the cyst came out, spinal fluid followed. It continued leaking for about 1 1/2 - 2 weeks.
This is what the surgery would look like:
Had a good read and figured I could share their page and some of the information I found there.
Where is the pituitary gland located and what does it do?
There is a pea-sized structure at the base of the brain called the pituitary gland. It doesn’t look like much and it could be easy to overlook, but don’t underestimate the power of the pituitary gland. Small, yet mighty, this “master endocrine gland” is part of the endocrine system and produces critical hormones that affect a whole host of functions in the body. Hormones made by the pituitary help control growth, blood pressure, certain functions of the sex organs, thyroid glands and metabolism as well as some aspects of pregnancy, childbirth, nursing, water/salt concentration and the kidneys, temperature regulation and pain relief.
Pituitary adenomas are non-cancerous (benign), usually slow-growing tumors that develop on the pituitary gland and which cause various symptoms depending on the type of adenoma and whether there is an over- or under-production of hormones.
Tumor removal is most commonly performed by minimally invasive surgery using the transsphenoid approach (also called endoscopic endonasal approach). This involves accessing the brain via the nose and the sphenoid bone which is a butterfly-shaped bone at the base of the skull leading to the sphenoidal sinus cavity. Doctors insert the endoscope and surgical instruments through the nostril and are able to reach and extract the tumor causing minimal disturbance to surrounding brain tissues and structures.
During my previous surgery, they drained the cyst. After the content of the cyst came out, spinal fluid followed. It continued leaking for about 1 1/2 - 2 weeks.
This is what the surgery would look like:
What some of the symptoms of pituitary conditions may include, is shown on the following picture:
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