Adrenal gland at a glance
- What it is
- The adrenal (suprarenal) gland is a small endocrine gland on top of each kidney.
- Location
- It lies retroperitoneally on the upper pole of each kidney, at about T11 to T12, within the renal fascia. The right is pyramidal and the left crescent-shaped.
- Function
- The cortex secretes corticosteroids (cortisol, aldosterone, androgens) and the medulla secretes adrenaline and noradrenaline.
- Body system
- Endocrine · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA15630 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Cortex zones: glomerulosa (aldosterone), fasciculata (cortisol) and reticularis (androgens).
- The medulla comes from neural crest cells and mainly secretes adrenaline.
- Supplied by superior (inferior phrenic), middle (aorta) and inferior (renal) suprarenal arteries.
- The right vein drains to the inferior vena cava; the left drains to the left renal vein.
Clinical relevance
Pheochromocytoma and Cushing or Addison disease involve the adrenal glands.
Structures next to the adrenal gland
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Tenth rib · skeletal
- Suprarenal vein · cardiovascular
- Middle suprarenal artery · cardiovascular
- Inferior suprarenal artery · cardiovascular
- Eleventh rib · skeletal
- Splenic vein · cardiovascular
- Splenic artery · cardiovascular
- Ninth rib · skeletal
- Hepatovenous segment VII · digestive
- Spleen · lymphatic
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Adrenal gland (FMA15630). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §17.1 An Overview of the Endocrine System. Rice University, 2022.
- Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.
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