Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-6766d58669-88psn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-17T19:52:04.768Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 8 - MR imaging of the adrenal glands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2011

Ihab R. Kamel
Affiliation:
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Elmar M. Merkle
Affiliation:
Duke University School of Medicine, North Carolina
Get access

Summary

Introduction

An adrenal “incidentaloma” is an adrenal mass, 1 cm or more in diameter, which is incidentally discovered during a radiologic examination performed for indications other than an evaluation for adrenal disease. With the widespread use of abdominal ultrasonography, multi-detector row computed tomography (MDCT), magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and positron emission tomography (PET) the incidence of adrenal incidentalomas has substantially increased. According to recent studies, the overall frequency of adrenal masses is approximately 4% at abdominal MDCT [1], which compares favorably with the 6% prevalence rate reported in a large autopsy study [2]. Although the majority of adrenal incidentalomas are clinically benign adenomas, other frequently reported diagnoses include metastases, pheochromocytomas, and adrenocortical carcinomas. The differential diagnosis between benign and malignant adrenal masses has become a common dilemma, which is compounded in patients with known or suspected of having an extra-adrenal malignancy, where approximately 50% of incidentally detected adrenal lesions are metastatic disease [3].

Information

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×