[Characteristics of adrenal anatomy in the newborn infant]

In 162 isolated organocomplexes, as well as in situ in 50 corpses of newborns of both sex with the body mass 2,500-4,800 g, the form and size of the adrenal glands have been studied. Three main forms of the adrenal glands have been revealed: triangular (28%), trapezial (40%), irregular oval (32%). The triangular form predominate on the right (44%) and the trapezial one--on the left (44%). The adrenal surface is lobular, the number of lobules being from 1-2 up to 3-4 and even more. The adrenal size varies: the vertical size (height) of the anterior surface is 11-32, that of the posterior--7-24, the transversal size (width of the base)--20-39, the sagittal size (thickness of the base)--5-25 mm. The adrenals in the newborns are characterized by relatively large dimentions: the ratio of the anterior surface height to the trunk length is expressed as 1:22, the ratio of the anterior surface height to the kidney length--as 1:1.6. Skeletotopically and regarding the renal vessels, the adrenals can occupy both a high and a low position, the latter being more often observed on the left. The adrenals of the newborns are characterized by a relatively large peritoneal field, that is the part of the anterior surface to which no other organs adjoin, that is covered with the peritoneum and turned into the peritoneal cavity. The left adrenal gland has two peritoneal fields--superior and inferior.