Ultrasonographic appearance of adrenal glands in healthy and sick cats

Abstract

The first part of the study aimed to describe prospectively the ultrasonographic features of the adrenal glands in 94 healthy cats and 51 chronically sick cats. It confirmed the feasibility of ultrasonography of adrenal glands in healthy and chronically sick cats, which were not statistically different. The typical hypoechoic appearance of the gland surrounded by hyperechoic fat made it recognisable. A sagittal plane of the gland, not in line with the aorta, may be necessary to obtain the largest adrenal measurements. The reference intervals of adrenal measurements were inferred from the values obtained in the healthy and chronically sick cats (mean ± 0.96 SD): adrenal length was 8.9-12.5 mm; cranial height was 3.0-4.8 mm; caudal height was 3.0-4.5 mm. The second part of the study consisted of a retrospective analysis of the ultrasonographic examination of the adrenal glands in cats with adrenal diseases (six had hyperaldosteronism and four had pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism) and a descriptive comparison with the reference features obtained in the control groups from the prospective study. Cats with hyperaldosteronism presented with unilateral severely enlarged adrenal glands. However, a normal contralateral gland did not preclude a contralateral infiltration in benign or malignant adrenal neoplasms. The ultrasonographic appearance of the adrenal glands could not differentiate benign and malignant lesions. The ultrasonographic appearance of pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism was mainly a symmetrical adrenal enlargement; however, a substantial number of cases were within the reference intervals of adrenal size.

Anatomy, histology, and ultrasonography of the normal adrenal gland in brown lemur: Eulemur fulvus

“…Although adrenal disorders can be diagnosed by ultrasonography in both humans and pet animals, [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] sonographic assessment of the normal or pathologic adrenal gland of lemurs has not been reported. In this study, the anatomic, histologic, and sonographic aspects of the adrenal glands of normal lemurs (E. fulvus) are presented.…”

“…Adrenal gland is a key organ in the adaptation of non‐human primates to stress and can become hyperplastic in monkeys chronically subjected to stress factors . Although ultrasonography proved to be effective in the diagnosis of various adrenal diseases in human studies as well as adrenal enlargement associated with hyperaldosteronism or hyperadrenocorticism in pet studies, there has been no work using ultrasound imaging to detect adrenal changes in non‐human primates affected by hormonal imbalances. According to Souza et al., this lack of literature would be due to an underdiagnosis of adrenal disorders in monkeys because ultrasonographic reference metrics of the adrenal glands are not available.…”

“…Adrenal gland is a key organ in the adaptation of non-human primates to stress and can become hyperplastic in monkeys chronically subjected to stress factors. [6][7][8][9] Although ultrasonography proved to be effective in the diagnosis of various adrenal diseases in human studies [10][11][12][13][14] as well as adrenal enlargement associated with hyperaldosteronism or hyperadrenocorticism in pet studies, [15][16][17][18] there has been no work using ultrasound imaging to detect *Co last authors.…”

Het effect van propofolanesthesie op echografische metingen van de bijnieren van gezonde katten

“…The adrenal glands were imaged according to a previously described protocol (Zimmer et al, 2000;Combes et al, 2013). The maximum length (craniocaudal, L) and the height of the cranial (crH) and caudal (cdH) poles (dorso-ventral) were measured on a sagittal scan of each adrenal gland.…”

“…In a study by Combes et al (2012), the adrenal glands of hyperthyroid cats showed similar or mildly enlarged measurements with mean measurement differences of 1.6-1.7 mm in length and 0.8-0.9 mm in height. In cats with hyperaldosteronism secondary to an adrenal carcinoma, the adrenal mass has been reported as at least twice the normal adrenal size on ultrasound, or more than 10 and 3 mm difference in length and height measurements, respectively (Combes et al, 2013).…”