A benign epithelial tumor derived from intrinsic cells of the adenohypophysis (anterior pituitary).
Comment:
In most cases pituitary adenoma are histologically benign, slow-growing, small neoplasms confined to the sella turcica. Some pituitary adenomas are more aggressive, grow faster, invade surrounding tissues, and cause local symptoms such as visual disturbances, headache, and varying degrees of hypopituitarism. Pituitary adenoma can be described as microadenoma, macroadenoma, and giant tumors based on size. Microadenoma is a tumor less than 10 mm, while macroadenoma describes a tumor larger than 10mm. Giant pituitary tumors are bigger than 40 mm.
Synonyms:
exact_synonym:
Noncancerous tumor in pituitary gland; Noncancerous tumour in pituitary gland; Pituitary gland adenoma