Ectopic adrenals in a sirenomelic fetus.

A sirenomelic malformation was diagnosed in a fetus from the first pregnancy of a 25-year-old woman, and it was aborted at the 24th week of gestation. The fetus represented a sympus monopus. The head, organs of the neck, the thorax, and the upper part of abdominal cavity were normally formed. The kidneys, the ureters, the urinary bladder and the urethra were not developed. Adrenals of discoid shape and normal size were present in the normal position. The large bowel ended blindly in the sigmoid colon. Both testes were found in their normal position in the pelvis. Two symmetrical structures, resembling ovaries in shape and colour, were found near the testes. Histological examination established that these two organs were accessory (aberrant) adrenals.