[Cystic degeneration of the adrenal cortex associated with hyaline membrane]

Forty-one autopsies in newborns with hyaline membrane were studied. In fourteen cases (34.1%) cystic degeneration of the outermost portion of the adrenal cortex was found. Our results differ from other studies as the lesions were observed in newborns at various gestational ages, with a higher incidence in the group of pre-term babies, small for their gestational age. The constant association of hyaline membrane and adrenal cortex cystic degeneration seem to suggest that both processes may share a common etiopathogenic mechanism, namely hypoxia followed by increased ACTH secretion.