[Functional morphology of adenohypophysis, thymus, and adrenal cortex in sudden infant death syndrome].

Adrenal glands, hypophysis and thymus of infants (mean age-4 months), who died of SIDS (30 cases), AVRI (10 cases) and violence (4 cases) were studied by morphometrical methods. The following changes in SIDS (in comparison with AVRI and violent death) were observed: a decrease of hypothesis weight with decreased quantity and size of basophil cells; reduced adrenal weight with thinning of the cortex particularly in the fascicular zone; diminished volumes of the nuclei in the adrenocortical cells of the fascicular zone; thymomegaly with hyperplasia of the thymus cortex; increased number of correlation links between morphometric indices of hypophysis and adrenal cortex. These changes may be indicative of a subclinical hypophyseal-adrenal insufficiency in SIDS. Adrenal cortex hypofunction was indirectly confirmed by the presence of thymomegaly. Long-lasting glucocorticoid deficiency in secondary hypocorticoidism may cause sudden infant death following minor environmental causes.