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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffIf your doctor suspects a pituitary disorder, he or she will likely order several tests to check levels of various hormones in your body. Your doctor may also want to check for hypopituitarism if you've had a recent head injury that might have put you at risk of damage to your pituitary gland.
Blood tests can help detect deficits in hormones as a result of pituitary failure. For example, these tests can identify low levels of thyroid, adrenal or sex hormones, and determine that these low levels are associated with inadequate pituitary hormone production.
Your doctor may also suggest that you go to a specialized endocrine clinic to undergo stimulation or dynamic testing. These tests check your body's secretion of hormones after you've taken certain medications that can stimulate hormone production.
Your doctor may also recommend:
- Brain imaging. A computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of your brain can detect a pituitary tumor or other structural abnormality.
- Vision tests. These tests can determine if growth of a pituitary tumor has impaired your sight or visual fields.
- X-ray. In children, an X-ray of the hand and wrist can measure whether the bones are growing normally.
- Hypopituitarism. American Academy of Family Physicians. http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/hormone/912.html. Accessed August 1, 2008.
- Snyder PJ. Diagnosis of hypopituitarism. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed August 1, 2008.
- Hypopituitarism. Merck Manual. http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec13/ch162/ch162c.html. Accessed August 1, 2008.
- Snyder PJ. Treatment of hypopituitarism. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html.Accessed August 1, 2008.
