[Morphology of the adrenal cortex in infants with generalized adenovirus infections]

Morphometric, histological, and immunofluorescent studies were carried out with adrenal glands of 14 infants dying with generalized adenovirus infection sometimes concurrent with other acute viral respiratory diseases. Nonspecific changes were found: edema of the capsule and stroma, discomplexation of the trabeculae, circulatory disorders, delipoidization, an increase in the content of DNA and RNA in cells of the definitive cortex, resorption of the elements of the fetal cortex. The pattern of changes of morphometric values attests to increased functional activity of the adrenal cortex. The intensity of the observed changes was directly related to the duration of the disease. The results of clinico-morphological analysis confirm the importance of adrenal insufficiency in tanatogenesis in generalized adenovirus infection. In 10 cases epithelial and endothelial cells of the definitive cortex were found to have specific lesions, the so-called adenovirus cells.