Endocrine System

Adrenal Gland - Infarct

Narrative
Comment:
Infarction of the adrenal gland may be associated with local tissue or vascular damage, hypercoagulation, or any other cause of thrombosis. Thus, sporadic infarction of the adrenal gland may occur as a background lesion. Adrenal infarction may be focal or multifocal, and acute or chronic. Acute adrenal infarction results in coagulative necrosis in a characteristic wedge-shaped lesion (Figure 1 and Figure 2) and may be associated with variable amounts of hemorrhage. This lesion progresses to tissue collapse, atrophy, and replacement by fibrosis in chronic stages; mineralization or pigmentation may also be present. Multifocal or diffuse infarction of the adrenal gland may indicate a systemic vasculopathy, generalized inflammation, or sepsis.
Recommendations:
Infarcts should be diagnosed as infarcts rather than diagnosing the individual components (e.g., necrosis, inflammation, fibrosis). They should be graded according to the extent of adrenal gland involvement. In the pathology narrative, infarcts should be designated as either acute or chronic, and if possible, the cause of the infarct should be identified.
References:

National Toxicology Program. 1999. NTP TR-488. Toxicology and Carcinogenesis Studies of 60-Hz Magnetic Fields in F344/N Rats and B6C3F1 Mice (Whole-Body Exposure Studies). NTP, Research Triangle Park, NC.

Abstract: https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/10166
  • Image of infarct in the adrenal gland cortex from a female F344/N rat in a chronic study

    Adrenal gland, Cortex - Infarct in a female F344/N rat from a chronic study (higher magnification of Figure 1). The wedge-shaped infarct radiates from the inner cortex to the capsular surface.

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<p>Adrenal gland, Cortex - Infarct in a female F344/N Rat from a chronic study. There is a focal, acute infarct in the adrenal cortex characterized by a wedge-shaped zone of necrosis.</p>

Adrenal gland, Cortex - Infarct in a female F344/N Rat from a chronic study. There is a focal, acute infarct in the adrenal cortex characterized by a wedge-shaped zone of necrosis.
<p>Adrenal gland, Cortex - Infarct in a female F344/N rat from a chronic study (higher magnification of Figure 1). The wedge-shaped infarct radiates from the inner cortex to the capsular surface.</p>

Adrenal gland, Cortex - Infarct in a female F344/N rat from a chronic study (higher magnification of Figure 1). The wedge-shaped infarct radiates from the inner cortex to the capsular surface.

Authors

Mark J. Hoenerhoff, DVM, PhD, DACVP
Associate Professor
Veterinary Pathologist, In Vivo Animal Core
Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI

Georgette D. Hill, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Toxicologic Pathologist/Assistant Pathology Program Manager
Comparative Molecular Pathology Division
Integrated Laboratory Systems, Inc.
Research Triangle Park, NC

Margarita M. Gruebbel, DVM, PhD, DACVP
Senior Pathologist
Experimental Pathology Laboratories, Inc.
Research Triangle Park, NC

Reviewers

Thomas J. Rosol, DVM, PhD, DACVP
Professor of Veterinary Biosciences
Senior Advisor, Life Sciences, Technology Commercialization and Knowledge Transfer
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH

Gordon Flake, MD
Staff Scientist
NTP Pathologist
Cellular and Molecular Pathology Branch
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Research Triangle Park, NC