Abstract
Objective: A cross-sectional descriptive type of study was designed to find out the difference in weight of the right and left adrenal glands of Bangladeshi people in relation to age and to compare with the previous studies. Materials & Methods: The study was done in the Department of Anatomy, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka from July 2008 to June 2009 and performed on 140 post mortem human adrenal glands collected from 70 unclaimed dead bodies which were in the morgue under examination in the Department of Forensic Medicine, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka. The samples were divided into four age-groups including group A (11-20 years), group B (21-30 years), group C (31-40 years) & group D (41-60 years) and the weight of the adrenal glands were measured and recorded. Results: There was no difference found in weight in between the right and the left adrenal glands in any age group. For the right adrenal gland, the differences in weight between group A & group B and group A & group D were statistically significant (p<0.05). For the left adrenal gland, the differences in weight between group A & group D and group C & group D were statistically significant (p<0.05). Key words: Adrenal gland; weight of adrenal gland. DOI: 10.3329/bjms.v9i4.6686Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.09 No.4 July 2010 pp.204-207
Highlights
The adrenal gland is a life-saving endocrine gland of the human body
Adrenal pathology can manifest in various ways either hypofunctional caused by primary atrophy, tuberculous destruction, adrenal cancer etc. or hyperfunctional caused by hyperplasia, adrenal tumours etc.[2]
Exact knowledge of the normal morphometry e.g. the weight of the adrenal gland, may facilitate the surgeons, endocrinologists, pathologists and radiologists to adopt appropriate diagnosis and treatment of various clinical conditions associated of the adrenal glands[3], as adrenal weight may be affected by patients' gender, age, laterality of adrenal gland and presence of systemic disease[4]
Summary
The adrenal gland is a life-saving endocrine gland of the human body. In 1855, Thomas Addison showed that adrenal glands were necessary for life, by identifying them as the site of damage in previously mysterious and fatal illness which became known as ‘Addison’s disease’[1]. Exact knowledge of the normal morphometry e.g. the weight of the adrenal gland, may facilitate the surgeons, endocrinologists, pathologists and radiologists to adopt appropriate diagnosis and treatment of various clinical conditions associated of the adrenal glands[3], as adrenal weight may be affected by patients' gender, age, laterality of adrenal gland and presence of systemic disease[4]. It has been observed by various researchers that the dimensions of different organs in Bangladeshi population have got variations from those of the western population[5]. It has been designed to see the weight of this important gland in different age groups and
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