[Morphology and endocrinology of a fatal course of Addison crisis]

A 36 year-old man fell ill with violent dorsalgia seemingly related to spondylosis. The diagnosis of tuberculous spondylitis was made as late as 18 months after the onset of symptoms. The disease rapidly progressed to death in spite of adequate tuberculostatic and surgical therapy. The post-mortem examination revealed a massively caseating tuberculosis of both adrenal glands suggestive of Addison's disease. Severe adrenocortical insufficiency was confirmed by low steroid hormone levels in the post-mortem blood; the validity of these results is indicated by comparative hormone level determinations in a series of recent and stored post-mortem blood specimens.