To review adrenal lesions and to describe their features in CT and MR imaging.

The adrenals are paired endocrine glands situated in the retroperitoneal space, located anterosuperiorly slightly medial to the upper pole of each kidney. Commonly the right adrenal gland in normal conditions appears slightly linear or has an inverted “V” configuration, while the left one, in most of the cases, has a triangular shape, such as an inverted “V” or “Y”. Each gland contains a bipartite structure with cortex and medulla having different embryogenesis, distinct macroscopic and microscopic structures and different functions [1]. Besides ultrasound, computed tomography...

Benign adrenal lesions are found in 3%-10% of the general population and adrenal adenoma remains the most common one, detected in 1.4-8.9% of cases on autopsy series [4]. There are many other adrenal lesions that according to their biological behavior can be classified into benign lesions, such as myelolipoma, pheochromocytoma and schwannoma, or malignant lesions including primary or metastatic cancer. Adrenal myelolipoma is an uncommon benign tumor, first described by Edgar von Gierke in 1905 [5], containing macroscopic fat and hematopoietic tissue. Patients affected by...

Although adrenal incidentalomas are extremely heterogeneous and often asymptomatic, radiologists should be familiar with their imaging features. CT scan provides useful information concerning the anatomic location of the lesion, its morphological features and relationships to adjacent vital structures. Moreover enhanced-CT may add information about mass composition, with specific wash-in and wash-out patterns, but it does not always allow radiologists to formulate a definitive diagnosis. MRI is currently considered the most accurate imaging technique for identification and characterization of adrenal masses. It provides an anatomic location...

[1] Korivi BR, Elsayes KM, de Castro SF, Garg N, Qayyum A. An Update of Practical CT Adrenal Imaging: What Physicians Need to Know. Current Radiology Reports 2015;3:12 10.1007/s40134-015-0091-2 [2] Wang F, Liu J, Zhang R, et al. CT and MRI of adrenal gland pathologies. Quant Imaging Med Surg. 2018;8(8):853-875 [3] NIH state-of-the-science statement on management of the clinically inapparent adrenal mass (“incidentaloma”) NIH Consens State Sci Statements. 2002;19:1–25 [4] Shin YR, Kim KA. Imaging Features of Various Adrenal Neoplastic Lesions on Radiologic and Nuclear...