A HISTOPHYSIOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE DEVELOPING ADRENAL CORTEX OF THE RAT DURING FETAL AND EARLY POSTNATAL STAGES1

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Abstract
Adrenal glands were obtained from fetal and neonatal rats from 16.5 days of gestation until 2.5 days after birth. Histological study shows that the glands grow steadily from 16.5 days to birth, principally as a result of enlargement of the cortical mass; after birth there is a significant decline in the size of the cortex. By 18.5 days, 3 zones may be distinguished in the cortex a narrow zona glomerulosa, a broad fasciculata, and an equally broad reticularis. Sudanophilic lipid droplets occur in the fetal cortical cells at 16.5 days of gestation, and their number increases throughout the interval studied. Lipid is sparser in the glomerulosa than in the fasciculata and reticularis. Between 17.5 and 19.5 days of gestation, the Ashbel-Seligman carbonyl reaction, the Schultz cholesterol reaction, birefringent crystals and a yellowish fluorescence begin to appear in the lipid droplets. The histochemical and morphological evidence indicates that active secretion by the cortical cells occurs at least by 19.5 days of gestation, and further, that activity diminishes immediately after birth.