Micro-computed tomography study of the abnormal osseous extensions of sella turcica.

ABSTRACT

The paper presents anatomical considerations on the abnormal ossification, which occurred around the dorsum of the sella turcica in the human skull of the female individual. Probably the morphological alterations of the sellar region were associated with extensive heterotopic ossification of the dura mater attached to the dorsum of the sella turcica and the posterior clinoid processes. The analysis of gray values of the voxels representing the areas of abnormal ossification indicated on variation in bone density in the entire sample. We have established that the highest mineralisation of bony tissue occurred in the marginal parts of the osseous extensions deriving from the posterior clinoid processes. The ossified parts of dura mater attached to the posterior clinoid processes showed significantly higher content of the hydroxyapatite (1.9 g/cm3) than the dorsum of the sella turcica (1.0 g/cm3).