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Sella turcica & hypophyseal fossa: magnified reference view with a numbered learning marker. The complete original plate is available in the next view.
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Sella turcica & hypophyseal fossa

Saddle-shaped superior region of sphenoid body. Central hypophyseal fossa houses pituitary gland. Bounded by tuberculum sellae and dorsum sellae.

Zoom in, then drag to inspect. Keyboard: + / − to zoom, arrows to pan, 0 to reset. Tap the numbered markers to explore parts.

Sella turcica & hypophyseal fossa: magnified reference view with a numbered learning marker. The complete original plate is available in the next view.

Image: OpenStax College / university open textbook · Source / original · CC BY 4.0

Numbered markers and focused views are Mediveerse learning overlays; the original reference is linked above.

Sella turcica & hypophyseal fossa

Sphenoid landmarks

Sella turcica & hypophyseal fossa

STRUCTURE & FUNCTION

Understand what you see.

Saddle-shaped superior region of sphenoid body.

Zoom into the original labels. Practise pointing out each structure, then explain it aloud. Diagrams are teaching references; specimen appearance and slide staining vary.

01 / IDENTIFICATION

How to recognise it.

  1. Saddle-shaped superior region of sphenoid body
  2. Central hypophyseal fossa houses pituitary gland
  3. Bounded by tuberculum sellae and dorsum sellae
02 / KEY STRUCTURES

Point them out.

Tap a number to open its reference, zoom in and locate the structure. Numbers stay the same across views. This key follows landmarks visible in the reference images.

Related features & study points (4)

Additional relations, attachments or microscopic details to revise alongside this plate. These are separate from its numbered image landmarks.

  • Tuberculum sellae
  • Hypophyseal fossa
  • Dorsum sellae
  • Clinoid processes
03 / VIVA PRACTICE

Think first. Then reveal.

Say your answer aloud before opening the suggested response.

Examiner-style prompts: identify the structure, explain its relations, then answer the applied follow-up. These are revision questions, not authenticated past papers.

01Identify sella turcica & hypophyseal fossa and justify your identification.
SUGGESTED ANSWER

Saddle-shaped superior region of sphenoid body. Central hypophyseal fossa houses pituitary gland. Bounded by tuberculum sellae and dorsum sellae.

02What lies in the hypophyseal fossa?
SUGGESTED ANSWER

The pituitary gland.

03What structure above the pituitary explains a visual-field effect of some pituitary masses?
SUGGESTED ANSWER

The optic chiasm lies superiorly; compression can affect crossing nasal retinal fibres and cause a bitemporal field defect.

Read the references.

Credited anatomical plates, microscopy and university teaching references. Individual image credits appear below the viewer. Historical plates can use older terminology; use the lesson text for current names.