Craniopharyngioma Arising in the Pharyngeal Hypophysis

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Abstract
Four cases of nasopharyngeal craniopharyngiomas were previously reported in the medical literature. They were only nasopharyngeal extensions of tumors originating in the anterior pituitary of the sella turcica. Pituitary adenomas can arise from any part of the craniopharyngeal canal. Supporting this theory are 4 reported cases of pituitary adenomas in the body of the sphenoid bone which are separate from both the sella turcica and the nasopharynx. The discovery, by Erdheim in 1904, of the pharyngeal hypophysis located on the posterior edge of the vomerine bone raises the possibility of a tumor arising in this tissue. The case of a [human embryonic] craniopharyngioma limited entirely to the nasopharynx, and specifically to the posterior end of the vomer, was reported. It may be the only reported example of a true neoplasm of the pharyngeal hypophysis.