Morphometric Analysis of the Pituitary Gland and Sella Turcica Using Computed Tomography Images in Hamdani Sheep: Evaluation of Sexual Dimorphism.

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to obtain morphometric data of the pituitary gland and sella turcica in Hamdani sheep using computed tomography (CT) and to assess sexual dimorphism.

METHODS

CT scans of skulls from 16 healthy adult Hamdani sheep (8 males, 8 females) were analysed using RadiAnt DICOM Viewer (64-bit). Morphometric measurements of the pituitary gland were obtained from transverse (length, height, width), dorsal (length, width), and sagittal (length, height) sections, and these values were used to calculate the volume of the gland. Additionally, using the pituitary gland measurements, the transverse index (TI), sagittal index (SI), and dorsal index (DI) were calculated. Furthermore, nine osteometric parameters including surface area and 12 ratio values were obtained from sagittal images of the sella turcica.

RESULTS

Statistical analysis showed that both the linear dimensions and volume of the pituitary gland and sella turcica were greater in males. The pituitary gland volume was 1.211 ± 0.166 cm3 in females and 1.911 ± 0.281 cm3 in males. In both sexes, age and body weight positively correlated with most pituitary gland measurements. However, in female Hamdani sheep, most of the correlations between linear measurements and index values were negative. Similarly, significant osteometric measurements of the sella turcica in both sexes showed positive correlations, while the height/width ratio generally had negative correlations with age and body weight.

CONCLUSIONS

CT imaging revealed marked morphometric differences between sexes in Hamdani sheep, confirming sexual dimorphism. These findings may contribute to future research in areas such as anatomical reference, sex determination, clinical diagnosis, pituitary and sella turcica pathology, veterinary surgery, and zooarchaeology.