Pituitary Tumors

Pituitary Tumors

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Diagnosis

During your visit to the California Center for Pituitary Disorders at UCSF Medical Center, our medical team will ask you about your medical history as well as your immediate family's medical history. If your primary care physician has sent your previous medical records, we will review this information. Be sure to tell your doctors about any medications you are currently using, including over-the-counter medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements or herbal remedies.

We will examine you in an attempt to discover the cause of your medical problem. This evaluation may include the following:

• Blood or Urine Tests -- These simple tests are used to measure the hormone levels in your blood and urine.

• Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) -- A simple, painless test that records the electrical activity of the heart through electrodes placed on the skin of the chest.

• X-rays -- High-energy radiation is used to take pictures of the pituitary gland.

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) -- This is a non-invasive procedure that produces two-dimensional views of an internal organ or structure, particularly your brain and spinal cord.

• Computed tomography (CT) -- This is a non-invasive procedure that takes cross-sectional images of the brain or other internal organs to detect any abnormalities that may not show up on an ordinary X-ray.

For patients with possible pituitary tumors, we also will perform a complete endocrinological evaluation.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated June 4, 2007