ULTRASTRUCTURE OF ALDOSTERONE SECRETING ADRENAL ADENOMATA

  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 14  (1) , 179-185
Abstract
Two [human] adrenocortical adenomata causing Conn''s syndrome were examined by EM. Adenomatous cells were arranged in small clusters and showed a rather different morphology, especially in mitochondria. Some cells contained mitochondria with lamellar and tubular cristae (zona glomerulosa-like cells), while other parenchymal elements displayed mitochondria with tubular and vesicular cristae (zona fasciculata-like cells). Both cell types were endowed with a well developed smooth endoplasmic reticulum, lipid droplets and a prominent Golgi apparatus. Adenomatous cells with large masses of lipofuscin pigment granules were observed (zona reticularis-like cells). These findings stress the structural heterogeneity of the Conn''s adenomata.