European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Background: Adrenal glands are vital part of endocrine system but very little has been
described in literature about normalcy of the glands. CT (computerized tomography) is
a very good modality to describe the morphology of the glands. Many conditions can be
diagnosed by knowing the radiological anatomy of the glands. The objectives is to assess
the normal adrenal gland thickness in adult population and to evaluate the relationship
of thickness with age and gender.
Materials and Methods: It is a hospital based cross-sectional study for a period of 1 year
in which the adult patients who underwent CT angiogram of the upper abdomen for
clinical indications other than adrenals were included. 1000 scans were included in the
study. The maximum thickness of the body, the medial and the lateral limbs were
measured at right angles to their long axis, in both adrenal glands.
Results: The mean age of the study participants was 54 ± 7.5 years and total of 700
males and 300 females were included. Mean maximum thickness of the right adrenal
gland body, medial limb, and lateral limb were 7.16 ± 1.67mm, 4.23 ± 1.45mm and 4.45
± 1.19mm respectively. The difference in all the measurements of the right and left sides
in which, left being larger than the right was statistically significant (P < 0.001). The
differences between the measurements among males and females were statistically
significant. There was positive correlation between the patient age and all the adrenal
gland measurements.
Conclusion: We recommend the use of our data as a useful baseline reference range for
the Indian adult population, and a guide for radiologists who can use this in their
routine cross-sectional reporting practice when they encounter a doubtful “bulky” or
“diffuse smoothly enlarged” adrenal gland.