Suprasellar cistern
Last revised by Luke Scott on 6 Mar 2024
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
St-Amant M, Scott L, Hacking C, et al. Suprasellar cistern. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 21 Sep 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-18682
rID:
18682
Article created:
18 Jul 2012,
Maxime St-Amant ◉
Disclosures:
At the time the article was created Maxime St-Amant had no recorded disclosures.
View Maxime St-Amant's current disclosures
Last revised:
6 Mar 2024,
Luke Scott
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Luke Scott had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Luke Scott's current disclosures
Revisions:
18 times, by
12 contributors -
see full revision history and disclosures
Systems:
Sections:
Tags:
Synonyms:
- Supra-sellar cistern
- Pentagon of basal cisterns
- chiasmatic cistern
The suprasellar cistern (also known as the chiasmatic cistern or pentagon of basal cisterns) is one of the cerebrospinal fluid-filled subarachnoid cisterns.
Gross anatomy
Location
The suprasellar cistern is located above the sella turcica, under the hypothalamus and between the uncus of the temporal lobes. It has roughly the shape of a pentagon at the level of the optic chiasma, and of a six-point star at the level of cerebral peduncles.
Contents
It contains the proximal part of the Sylvian fissure (sometimes separately termed the Sylvian cistern), the optic chiasm, the infundibular stalk and the cerebrovascular circle of Willis.
Relations
The interpeduncular cistern is posterior to this and is separated by the superior sheet of the Liliequist membrane of the diencephalon.
Related pathology
common location for blood to collect in subarachnoid hemorrhage
may be obliterated in cases of raised intracranial pressure
Quiz questions
{"containerId":"expandableQuestionsContainer","displayRelatedArticles":true,"displayNextQuestion":true,"displaySkipQuestion":true,"articleId":18682,"questionManager":null,"mcqUrl":"https://radiopaedia.org/articles/suprasellar-cistern/questions/2315?iframe=true\u0026lang=us"}
References
- 1. Dahya V, Andronikou S. The paediatric suprasellar cistern as an important CT review area. South African Journal of Radiology. 9 (1): 16. doi:10.4102/sajr.v9i1.91
- 2. Butler P, Mitchell A, Healy JC. Applied Radiological Anatomy. Cambridge University Press. (2012) ISBN:0521766664. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
Incoming Links
Articles:
- Intracranial epidermoid cyst
- Pituitary fossa
- Optic chiasm
- Pituitary MRI (an approach)
- Cerebral amyloid angiopathy
- Brain tumours
- Emergency CT head (mnemonic)
- Bern score
- Arachnoid cyst
- Hypothalamic hamartoma
- Liliequist membrane
- Interpeduncular cistern
- Tuberculous meningitis
- Perimesencephalic subarachnoid hemorrhage
- Circle of Willis
- Carotid cistern
- Pituitary gland
- Subarachnoid cisterns
Cases:
- Pituitary macroadenoma with apoplexy
- Complications of otitis media
- Dermoid cyst of the pituitary fossa
- Anterior clinoid process meningioma
- Adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma
- Tuberculous meningitis with subarachnoid spinal involvement
- Intracranial hypotension
- Central neurocytoma
- Suprasellar arachnoid cyst
- Haemorrhagic pituitary macroadenoma
Multiple choice questions:
Related articles: Anatomy: Brain
-
brain
- grey matter
- white matter
-
cerebrum
-
cerebral hemisphere (telencephalon)
- cerebral lobes and gyri
- frontal lobe
- parietal lobe
-
occipital lobe
- occipital pole
- lingual gyrus
- fusiform gyrus (Brodmann area 37)
- calcarine (visual) cortex
- cuneus
- temporal lobe
- basal forebrain
- limbic system
- insula
-
cerebral sulci and fissures (A-Z)
- calcarine fissure
- callosal sulcus
- central (Rolandic) sulcus
- cingulate sulcus
- collateral sulcus
- inferior frontal sulcus
- inferior occipital sulcus
- inferior temporal sulcus
- interhemispheric fissure
- intraparietal sulcus
- lateral (Sylvian) sulcus
- lateral occipital sulcus
- marginal sulcus
- occipitotemporal sulcus
- olfactory sulcus
- paracentral sulcus
- paraolfactory sulcus
- parieto-occipital fissure
- posterior parolfactory sulcus
- precentral sulcus
- preoccipital notch
- postcentral sulcus
- rhinal sulcus
- rostral sulcus
- subparietal sulcus
- superior frontal sulcus
- superior occipital sulcus
- superior temporal sulcus
- cortical histology
- cerebral lobes and gyri
- white matter tracts
- deep grey matter
-
pituitary gland
- posterior pituitary and stalk (part of diencephalon)
- anterior pituitary
- inferior hypophyseal arterial circle
- diencephalon
-
cerebral hemisphere (telencephalon)
-
brainstem
- midbrain (mesencephalon)
- pons (part of metencephalon)
- medulla oblongata (myelencephalon)
- white matter
-
grey matter
- non-cranial nerve
-
cranial nerve nuclei
- oculomotor nucleus
- Edinger-Westphal nucleus
- trochlear nucleus
- motor nucleus of CN V
- mesencephalic nucleus of CN V
- main sensory nucleus of CN V
- spinal nucleus of CN V
- abducent nucleus
- facial nucleus
- superior salivatory nucleus
- cochlear nuclei
- vestibular nuclei
- inferior salivatory nucleus
- solitary tract nucleus
- ambiguus nucleus
- dorsal vagal motor nucleus
- hypoglossal nucleus
-
cerebellum (part of metencephalon)
- vermis
- cerebellar hemisphere
- cerebellar peduncles
- cranial meninges (meninx primitiva)
- CSF spaces
-
cranial nerves (mnemonic)
- olfactory nerve (CN I)
- optic nerve (CN II)
- oculomotor nerve (CN III)
- trochlear nerve (CN IV)
- trigeminal nerve (CN V) (mnemonic)
- abducens nerve (CN VI)
- facial nerve (CN VII) (segments mnemonic | branches mnemonic)
-
vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII)
- vestibular ganglion (Scarpa's ganglion)
- glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX)
- vagus nerve (CN X)
- spinal accessory nerve (CN XI)
- hypoglossal nerve (CN XII)
- functional neuroanatomy
- CNS development
- cerebral vascular supply
- arteries
- vascular territories
-
circle of Willis
- internal carotid artery (ICA) (segments)
- vertebral artery
-
normal variants
- intracranial arterial fenestration
- internal carotid artery (ICA)
- anterior cerebral artery (ACA)
- middle cerebral artery (MCA)
- posterior cerebral artery (PCA)
- basilar artery
- persistent carotid-vertebrobasilar artery anastomoses (mnemonic)
- vertebral artery
- ophthalmic artery
-
cerebral venous system
-
dural venous sinuses
- basilar venous plexus
- cavernous sinus (mnemonic)
- clival diploic veins
- inferior petro-occipital vein
- inferior petrosal sinus
- inferior sagittal sinus
- intercavernous sinus
- internal carotid artery venous plexus of Rektorzik
- jugular bulb
- marginal sinus
- occipital sinus
- sigmoid sinus
- sphenoparietal sinus
- straight sinus
- superior petrosal sinus
- superior sagittal sinus
- torcula herophili
- transverse sinus
-
cerebral veins
-
superficial veins of the brain
- superior cerebral veins (superficial cerebral veins)
- inferior cerebral veins
- superficial middle cerebral vein
- superior anastomotic vein (of Trolard)
- inferior anastomotic vein (of Labbe)
-
superficial veins of the brain
-
deep veins of the brain
- great cerebral vein (of Galen)
- venous circle of Trolard
- normal variants
-
dural venous sinuses
- arteries
- glymphatic pathway