title: Histopathological features of post-mortem pituitaries: A retrospective analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  As a result of the use of neuroimaging techniques, silent pituitary lesions are diagnosed more and more frequently; however, there are few published post-mortem studies about this gland. Incidence data of pituitary lesions are rare and in Portugal they are outdated or even non-existent. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of normal patterns and incidental post-mortem pituitary pathology at Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, analyzing the associations with clinical data and assessing the clinical relevance of the findings.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed retrospectively and histologically 167 pituitaries of a consecutive series of autopsies from the Department of Pathology of this centre. They were done between 2012 and 2014, and in all cases medical records were reviewed. The morphological patterns observed, were classified into three major groups: 1) Normal histological patterns and variants; 2) Infectious-inflammatory pathology, metabolic and vascular disorders; 3) Incidental primary proliferation and secondary to systemic diseases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The subjects included in this study were of all age groups (from 1 day to 91 years old), 71 were female and 96 male. Fifty-seven of these glands didn't show any alteration; 51 showed colloid cysts arising from Rathke cleft; 44 presented hyperplasia in adenohypophysis and we identified 20 adenomas in 19 glands (immunohistochemically, eight PRL-producing and five ACTH-producing tumors), ten of which associated with obesity, 11 to hypertension and six to diabetes mellitus. There were two cases with metastasis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Subclinical pathology in our country is similar to that seen in other parts of the world, but at older ages.
authors.affiliation: MD, specialist in Pathological Anatomy - Department of Pathology, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, Lisboa. Lecturer, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa. PhD Student at the Department of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco José Tortosa
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Vallecillos
authors.affiliation: MD, specialist in Pathological Anatomy - Department of Pathology, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, Lisboa. Lecturer, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Santiago Ortiz
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Fernández
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000473:pathology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001344:Autopsy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010900:Pituitary Diseases / Q000473:pathology; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000473:pathology*; D011174:Portugal; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D055815:Young Adult