Adrenalectomy

The adrenal gland is composed of two endocrine tissues of differing embryonic origin, the medulla and the cortex. The chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla are derived from the neuroectoderm, whereas the cells of the adrenal cortex are derived from the mesoderm. As gonadal tissues may also be traced back to a mesodermal origin and are similarly involved in the synthesis of steroid hormones, inborn enzymatic defects in one tissue are frequently present in the other. This common origin can therefore result in both medical and surgical presentations which involve multiple systems and which may require a multidisciplinary approach to treatment.