Right adrenal gland
Glandula suprarenalis dextra
Endocrine & glandsGlandsAbdomenRight side
- What it is
- A pyramid-shaped gland perched on the top of the right kidney, wedged between the liver, the inferior vena cava and the diaphragm. Shown with a wedge cut away to reveal its outer cortex and inner medulla. Its thin fibrous capsule is what you see here.
- Function
- The capsule binds the cortex and medulla into one organ and carries the dozens of small arteries that pierce it from the aorta, phrenic and renal arteries.
- Size
- About 3 × 3.5 × 1 cm, 4–5 g
- Clinical note
- The right adrenal vein is only a few millimetres long and enters the vena cava directly, which makes right adrenal surgery bloodier than the left.