Abstract

Adrenal glands are relatively small than other upper abdominal solid organs but they are affected by complex physiologic and neoplastic processes. In the past, normal adrenal gland and small adrenal masses are difficult to examine because adrenal gland is small and located deeply in the abdominal cavity. However, by the recent remarkable advance of the MR and CT machines and imaging techniques detection of normal adrenal gland and detection and differential diagnosis of various adrenal lesions are possible. And so radiology is playing a critical role in not only the detection of adrenal abnormalities but in characterizing them as benign or malignant. In the diagnosis of adrenal lesions, various imaging modalities are used including, ultrasonography, CT, MR imaging and nuclear medicine imaging. Ultrasonography plays a role as a screening imaging modality. CT is the imaging modality of choice for both detection and characterization of adrenal masses. MR imaging is a problem solving modality in cases of inconclusive or insufficient on CT. The purpose of this article is to give an overview of adrenal diseases and their imaging appearances and describe the current concepts of differentiating a benign from a malignant adrenal mass.

• Keywords: Adrenal gland, Diseases, CT, MR, Neoplasms