Endocrine system
David A Lisle in Imaging for Students, 2012
Phaeochromocytoma is a tumour arising from chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla. Ninety per cent occur in the adrenal gland and 10 per cent in ectopic extra-adrenal locations. Phaeochromocytoma may also be discovered due to a hypertensive crisis brought on by surgery or some other stress. Ten per cent arise as part of a syndrome, example multiple endocrine neoplasia, familial phaeochromocytoma, tuberous sclerosis, and Von Hippel–Lindau disease, neurofibromatosis. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen, with particular attention to the adrenal glands is the initial imaging investigation of choice in the diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma. Patients with an incidentally discovered adrenal mass should be assessed for clinical evidence of Cushing syndrome and hypertension; depending on the clinical findings, biochemical screening for Cushing syndrome, hyperaldosteronism or phaeochromocytoma may be indicated. CT or magnetic resonance imaging may be used to outline the anatomy of large goitres prior to surgical removal, particularly where there is retrosternal extension into the upper mediastinum.
Urological cancer
Peter Hoskin in Clinical Oncology, 2020
This chapter deals with urological cancer, focusing on renal cell carcinoma, prostate cancer, bladder cancer, testicular cancer, and penis cancer. It discusses aspects of epidemiology, aetiology, pathology, symptoms and sings, diagnosis and investigations, various types of therapies and treatments, and complications of the five types of cancers. For renal cell carcinoma, radical nephrectomy in which the perirenal fat, perirenal fascia, adrenal gland and regional nodes are removed en bloc is the operation of choice with superior local control rates to simple nephrectomy. In testicular cancer, all patients will proceed to inguinal orchidectomy with removal of the affected testis. Scrotal interference should be avoided at all costs because of the risk of tumour implantation in the scrotal wound and subsequent relapse.
Kidney Structure and Physiology
Joseph D. Bronzino, Donald R. Peterson in Biomedical Engineering Fundamentals, 2014
The fundamental structural and functional organization of the nephron is conserved in the vertebrate kidney, and tissues with similar structure and function are observed throughout the animal kingdom. Direct measurements in animals have revealed that the hydrostatic pressure gradient across the glomerular capillary wall is normally about 45 mm Hg. Mechanical testing of basement membrane samples from kidney tubules indicates that this structure exhibits nonlinear mechanical properties, becoming stier as the strain is increased. Each kidney is capped by a closely approximated adrenal gland, each of which produces several important steroid hormones, including epinephrine and aldosterone. Fluids enter and exit the kidney through the hilum at the concave aspect of each organ. In the body, the hilum is oriented toward the abdominal great vessels. Upon penetrating the kidney at the hilum, the renal artery immediately branches into anterior and posterior divisions, and then arborizes into interlobar arteries that course radially between lobes of the parenchyma.
Nomograms of the whole foetal adrenal gland and foetal zone at gestational age of 16–24 weeks
Published in Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2017
Mattawan Jamigorn, Vorapong Phupong
The aim of this study was to create nomograms of the whole foetal adrenal gland and the foetal zone at 16–24 weeks of gestation in the Thai population, as well as to evaluate the relationships between the gestational age and the whole foetal adrenal gland and the foetal zone. Transabdominal measurement of the whole foetal adrenal gland and adrenal foetal zone were added to the routine biometric measurements at 16–24 weeks of gestation of singleton low-risk pregnancies. A total of 189 measurements were used for analysis. A linear correlation was observed between gestational age and the length, width and depth of the whole foetal adrenal gland at 16–24 weeks of gestation. A linear correlation was also found between gestational age and the length, width and depth of the foetal zone at 16–24 weeks of gestation. This study shows the linear growth of the foetal adrenal gland and foetal zone from 16–24 weeks of gestation. These reference values may be helpful in detecting abnormal growth of foetal adrenal gland or any abnormalities of the foetal adrenal gland.Impact StatementWhat is already known on this subject: Foetal adrenal glands play a pivotal role, mainly through steroidogenesis, in the regulation of the intrauterine homeostasis, and in foetal development and maturation. There is evidence to support that the foetus may be in control of the timing of its own birth by activating its hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis to increase the production of dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate to predominately induce the enlargement of the central foetal zone.What the results of this study add: This study shows the nomograms of the foetal adrenal gland and foetal zone from 16–24 weeks of gestation and the linear growth of the foetal adrenal gland and foetal zone from 16–24 weeks of gestation.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research:These reference values may be helpful in detecting abnormal growth of foetal adrenal gland or any abnormalities of the foetal adrenal gland.
Hormonal Regulation of Peripheral Benzodiazepine Binding Sites in Female Rat Adrenal Gland and Kidney
Published in Journal of Receptor Research, 1989
F. Fares, S. Bar-Ami, Y. Haj-Yehia, M. Gavish
The effect of hypophysectomy and hormonal replacement on the density of peripheral benzodiazepine binding sites (PBS) in rat adrenal gland and kidney was studied. In the adrenal gland, hypophysectomy caused a significant decrease of 3-fold in PBS density. In the kidney, in contrast, hypophysectomy did not affect PBS density. In the adrenal gland, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) administered to hypophysectomized rats caused a significant increase of more than 5-fold in PBS density compared to untreated hypophysectomized rats, and of more than 1.6-fold compared to intact rats. In contrast, the hormones pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG), diethylstilbestrol (DES), and hydrocortisone (HC), administered to hypophysectomized rats, failed to restore PBS density in the adrenal gland. In the kidney, HC administered to hypophysectomized rats caused an increase of 1.4-fold in PBS density compared to untreated hypophysectomized and intact rats. In contrast, the hormones ACTH, PMSG, and DES, administered to hypophysectomized rats, did not affect PBS density in the kidney. None of the hormones tested altered the equilibrium dissociation constant of PBS in either the adrenal gland or the kidney. These findings indicate that PBS density in rat adrenal gland and kidney is hormonally modulated.
Ultrasound measurement of fetal adrenal gland in fetuses with intrauterine growth restriction, an early predictive method for adverse outcomes
Published in The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 2019
Zohre Farzad Mohajeri, Soroush Aalipour, Mahdi Sheikh, Masoumeh Shafaat, Sedigheh Hantoushzadeh, Sedigheh Borna, Soghra Khazardoost
Objectives: Comparing the sonographic measurements of fetal adrenal gland in pregnancies with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) versus healthy controls and to assess whether the changes in adrenal gland measurements could predict adverse pregnancy outcomes in IUGR fetuses. Methods: This prospective cohort study evaluated 97 pregnant women (48 with IUGR pregnancies and 49 healthy controls) during their third gestational trimester. All mothers underwent two dimensional ultrasonography of the fetal adrenal gland, and the fetal zone in transverse, sagittal, and coronal planes. Adrenal gland volume (AGV) and fetal zone volume (FZV) were calculated and corrected (c) for fetal weight. The mothers were then followed until delivery. Results: Fetuses in the IUGR group had larger corrected adrenal gland volume (c_AGV) and smaller corrected fetal zone volume (c_FZV) compared to the fetuses in the control groups (p < .001). In the IUGR group, significantly smaller c_AGV and higher fetal/adrenal were detected in IUGR fetuses who had nonreassuring fetal status before delivery, preterm birth, very low birth weight delivery, and also those who required neonatal intensive care unit admission (p < .01 for all). Conclusions: Third trimester fetal adrenal gland sonography could potentially be used as an easy noninvasive method for identifying those IUGR fetuses who might have poorer outcomes.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Catecholamine
- Corticosteroid
- Kidney
- Endocrine Gland
- Hormone
- Cortisol