Ectopic thyroid in an adrenal mass: a case report.
BACKGROUND
It is difficult to explain ectopic thyroid beneath the diaphragm because during the development the thyroid descends from the tongue to the anterior of the trachea. A few cases of ectopic lesions have been reported in the literature for abdominal organs including the adrenal glands, but the mechanism by which the thyroid components migrate into the abdomen has been poorly understood.


METHODS
A 54-year-old woman was diagnosed as having an adrenal mass. Laparoscopic adrenalectomy was carried out. Microscopically, the mass was composed of normal adrenal and ectopic thyroid tissues.


CONCLUSIONS
We herein describe the fourth case reported of ectopic thyroid in the adrenal gland.
Hagiuda
Jun
J
Department of Urology, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan. junhagi@hotmail.com
Kuroda
Isao
I
Tsukamoto
Takuji
T
Ueno
Munehisa
M
Yokota
Chizuko
C
Hirose
Takanori
T
Deguchi
Nobuhiro
N
D000307:Adrenal Gland Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D002828:Choristoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D013961:Thyroid Gland