CT and MRI of adrenal lesions

Adrenal lesions can be divided into those that result in clinical syndromes due to excess hormone elaboration and those that are nonhyperfunctioning. Computed tomography (CT) is usually adequate to assess the adrenal glands in patients with hyperfunctional disease. Occasionally supplementation with radionuclide studies, magnetic resonance (MR) or venous sampling, is required. Lesions which are not hyperfunctioning are often detected as an incidental mass. The CT and MR characteristics often allow a confident diagnosis based on their imaging characteristics. The adrenal glands are a common site of metastatic disease which can be detected by CT and further characterized by MR or biopsy if the stage of disease is uncertain.