RT Book, Section
A1 Miller, Walter L.
A2 Rudolph, Colin D.
A2 Rudolph, Abraham M.
A2 Lister, George E.
A2 First, Lewis R.
A2 Gershon, Anne A.
SR Print(0)
ID 7053528
T1 Chapter 531. The Adrenal Cortex
T2 Rudolph's Pediatrics, 22e
YR 2011
FD 2011
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-149723-7
LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=7053528
RD 2024/04/20
AB The  cells  of  the  adrenal  cortex  are  of  mesodermal  origin,  in  contrast  to  the  neuroectodermal  cells  of  the  adrenal  medulla.  Human  embryonic  adrenogonadal  progenitor  cells  first  appear  at  around  the  fourth  week  of  gestation  between  the  urogenital  ridge  and  dorsal  mesentery.  These  progenitor  cells  give  rise  to  the  steroidogenic  cells  of  the  gonads  and  to  the  adrenal  cortex.  The  adrenal  and  gonadal  cells  then  separate—the  adrenal  cells  migrate  retroperitoneally  to  the  cranial  pole  of  the  mesonephros,  and  the  gonadal  cells  migrate  caudally.  Between  the  seventh  and  eighth  weeks  of  development,  sympathetic  cells  from  the  neural  crest  invade  the  primitive  adrenal  and  become  the  adrenal  medulla.  By  the  end  of  the  eighth  week,  the  rudimentary  adrenal  has  become  encapsulated  and  is  associated  with  the  upper  pole  of  the  kidney,  which  at  this  time  is  much  smaller  than  the  adrenal.