What are the Adrenal Glands?

 What are the Adrenal Glands?

Have you ever looked at a diagram of the kidneys and wonder what the yellowish, triangles on top are? Well, that is what we call the adrenal glands, and they have a special and important purpose in the human body. The adrenal glands are retroperitoneal structures and are located superior to the kidneys. They are part of the endocrine system, and its main purpose is to produce hormones that aid in metabolism, regulating stress, and other functions of the body (Pulse Radiology Institute, n.d., slide 14).  The adrenal glands also consist of the adrenal cortex (outer layer that produces dozens of adrenocortical steroids/corticosteroids) and the adrenal medulla (the inner layer that is responsible for the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine, or flight-or-fight response) (Kelley & Petersen, 2013, pgs. 444-445). 

Diagram of the adrenal glands (G, 2023)


How to Identify the Adrenal Glands in an Image

Unlike the easy recognizable structure of the kidneys, the adrenals glands are a harder structure to locate and identify on an image because of how small they appear on a large FOV. However, it is not impossible to find. Let's uses the kidneys to help guide us in the right location of the adrenal glands. As stated above, the adrenal glands are located superior to the kidneys, a.k.a. the adrenal glands are directly above the kidneys. Think of the adrenal gland as a small, triangular hat on top of the bean-shaped kidney, as the below picture. Easy, right? Well, now let's look at the adrenal glands in different planes.

In the coronal plane, the adrenals glands are the easiest to find because we are going from anterior to posterior. (Burghart & Finn, 2012, p. 306) Like I stated before, the adrenal glands look like a hat on top of the kidneys, like the kidneys are having a birthday party with birthday hats on. 🥳. Simple? This view of the adrenal glands is similar in the sagittal plane as well.

CT, coronal picture of normal adrenal glands (Themes, 2016)

CT, sagittal picture of normal adrenal glands (Themes, 2016)


How about the adrenal glands in the axial plane? In MRI, we will scan the adrenal glands from superior to inferior for an axial plane (Burghart & Finn, 2012, p. 305). This means we will see the adrenal glands before we see the kidneys. But that's okay because just like in the coronal plane, the adrenal glands are still located above the kidneys and will be more recognizable as we go through slices and locate the kidneys. However, there is a small catch. In an axial view, the adrenal glands will look different through each slice. Below are how the adrenal glands will look as we are going through slices in the axial plane.

Other views of the adrenal glands in the axial plane (Kelley & Petersen, 2013, pgs. 444-445)


Note that the shape and size of the adrenal glands can change due to disorders and diseases of the adrenal glands or other surrounding organs. 

Also note that the left and right adrenal glands look slightly different from one another. The left adrenal gland has a more rounded top than the "pointier" tip of the right adrenal gland, and the left adrenal gland is slightly higher than the right.  

I hope this blog has helped you understand the functions of the adrenal glands and how to properly locate and identify these glands in different planes.  


References

Burghart, G., & Finn, C. A. (2012). Handbook of MRI Scanning - E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Kelley, L. L., & Petersen, C. (2013). Sectional Anatomy for Imaging Professionals - E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Pulse Radiology Institute. (n.d.). Week 9: Abdomen. [PowerPoint Slides]. Canvas@PulseRadiologyInstitute.

G, M. (2023, July 16). Pictures of adrenal glands. Healthiack. https://healthiack.com/encyclopedia/pictures-of-adrenal-glands

Themes, U. (2016, August 11). Adrenal Gland Imaging. Radiology Key. https://radiologykey.com/adrenal-gland-imaging/

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