Mechanism of rejection of human fetal adrenal cortex

Abstract

In the course of development from early recognizable fetal stage to about 2 years after birth, the adrenal gland in man and some other primates undergo an interesting sequence of changes, which has been described as physiological involution. The so called involution occurs in what is known as the fetal type of cortical cells. The recognition of fetal adrenal cortex as distinct from the adult cortex is ascribed to Elliot and Armour in 1911. They found that the adrenal cortex was composed of a narrow rim of cells which constituted the periphery of the cortex and from which the adult cortex was derived. This peripheral zone was named the "Permanent Zone" and the area between the permanent zone and the medulla was occupied by cells which were called the so called "Fetal Cortical Cells". This fetal zone degenerated after birth and was subsequently replaced by regeneration from the peripheral rim of cells.