Adrenal Medulla and Pheochromocytoma

This topic focuses on the pathology of the adrenal medulla, primarily neoplasms of chromaffin cells known as pheochromocytomas. Zambian tertiary students in oncology and endocrinology will learn that these tumors secrete catecholamines (epinephrine, norepinephrine), leading to the predominant clinical feature of hypertension. This may be episodic (with spells of headache, palpitations, sweating) or sustained. Understanding the potential for these tumors to cause hypertensive crises, which can precipitate heart failure, myocardial infarction, or stroke, is critical. The topic also notes that pheochromocytomas can be part of familial syndromes like MEN II. This knowledge is essential for diagnosing a surgically correctable cause of hypertension and is important for pathology, surgery, and internal medicine examinations in Zambian universities and colleges.