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Adrenal Gland

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Pathology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Pathology ((EP))

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Synonyms

Suprarenal gland

Anatomy

The adrenal gland is located just superior to the kidneys. Arterial supply is from the inferior phrenic artery, the aorta, and the renal artery. The left adrenal vein drains into the renal vein while the right adrenal vein is much shorter and drains into the inferior vena cava. In adults the right adrenal gland has a pyramidal shape while the left is elongated or crescentic (Keene and Hemler 1927; Symington 1969).

Function

The adrenal cortex produces several hormones and the hormone produced is dependent on the specific zone (Carney and Lloyd 2012). The zona glomerulosa produces the mineralocorticoid aldosterone, while the fasciculata produces mainly glucocorticoids (cortisol and corticosterone) and the reticularis produces sex steroids, mainly androgens. These hormones have different functions with aldosterone regulating salt balance, glucocorticoids regulating gluconeogenesis, and sex steroids influencing sex functions. Glucocorticoids are under the...

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References and Further Reading

  • Carney, J. A., & Lloyd, R. V. (2012). Adrenal. In S. E. Mills (Ed.), Histology for pathologist (3rd ed., pp. 1167–1188). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

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  • Keene, M. F. L., & Hemler, E. E. (1927). Observations on the development of the human suprarenal gland. Journal of Anatomy, 61, 302–324.

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  • Quinan, C., & Berger, A. A. (1993). Observation on human adrenals with special reference to the relative weight of the normal medulla. Annals of Internal Medicine, 6, 1180–1192.

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  • Symington, T. (1969). Functional pathology of the human adrenal gland. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA

    Ricardo V. Lloyd

Authors
  1. Ricardo V. Lloyd
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ricardo V. Lloyd .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NIJMEGEN, The Netherlands

    J.H.J.M. van Krieken

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Lloyd, R.V. (2020). Adrenal Gland. In: van Krieken, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_5204-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_5204-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

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