COMPARATIVE STUDIES ON TISSUE CORTICOSTEROID CONTENT AND MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURE IN FUNCTIONING ADRENOCORTICAL ADENOMA AND HYPERPLASIA

For the purpose of clarifying the functional significance of clear- and compact-type cells, correlative hormonal and morphological studies were per-formed on adrenocortical tumors associated with primary aldosteronism, Cushing\u27s syndrome or non-dyshormonal symptoms. The content of aldosterone, corticosterone and cortisol in adrenal tissue was estimated by radioimmunoassay, and, on the surface of a quantitative sample, the ratio of its constituent cell-type was examined in sections with oil red O stain and/or H-E stain. The content of aldosterone and corticosterone was significantly higher in primary aldosteronism (P