Ectopic pituitary adenoma presenting as a nasopharyngeal mass: CT and MRI findings

摘要

Recent embryologic studies indicate that the adenohypoph-ysis (AH) is derived from the outer margins of the prosencephalic neural plate anterior to the origin of the hypothalamus and neurohypophysis (NH) [1]. And, adenohypophysis migrates from a pharyngeo-cranial location to the sellar region. Along this migration route, an ectopic adenohypophysis is possible in the nasopharynx [1-5]. However, there are few reported cases of an ectopic pituitary adenoma locating in the nasopharynx [5]. We reviewed the literature and report a very rare ectopic adenoma locating in the nasopharynx with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) findings.