Lipoma of the adrenal gland.

A rare case of a lipoma of the adrenal gland is reported with a review of the literature. The tumor was incidentally found at autopsy in a 50-year-old man who died from severe head trauma after a traffic injury. At autopsy, an oval-shaped, soft yellow nodule measuring 1.1 cm in diameter was found in the right adrenal cortex. Histological examination revealed a lesion consisting of mature adipose tissue partially surrounded by a thin fibrous capsule. On serial sections there was no evidence of hematopoiesis nor of adrenal medulla cells. To the best of our knowledge, this is the eighth case described in the English literature. With the increasing use and the high resolution of modern imaging techniques, these unsuspected adrenal masses may become more prevalent.