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Pituitary fossa of Irish giant Charles Byrne (1761-1783)

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American neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing opened Byrne's skull with Sir Arthur Keith in 1909 at the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, at a time when Cushing was marshaling evidence for endocrine functions of the pituitary. Oddly, Keith misattributed the source of the skeleton to another Irish giant, Patrick Cotter O'Brien (1760-1806), also known as the Bristol Giant. Legend: a. Foramen caecum; b. Crista; c. Cribriform plates; de, e, Ridge and fossa caused by impression of pituitary tumor on presphenoid; f, Optic foramen; g, Anterior clinoid processes; h, Petrous bone; i, Dorsum sellae. (Source: Keith A. An inquiry into the nature of the skeletal changes in acromegaly. Lancet 1911;1:993-1002.) (Image edited by Dr. Douglas J Lanska.)