This low magnification
image shows most of the thickness the cortex of the adrenal gland. The gland
is covered by a thick connective tissue capsule
(seen in the upper left corner of the image), from which thin trabeculae
of connective tissue penetrate into the gland, associated with blood vessels.
The trabeculae surround groups of cortical secretory cells, which are organized
in three laters, each with a distinctive arrangement of cells. Just beneath
the capsule, in the zona glomerulosa, the cells
are arranged in oval groups. The second and thickest layer is the zona
fasciculata in which the cells are arranged in parallel files. The
innermost layer is the zona reticularis, in which
the cells are arranged in a anastomising cords ( a reticular pattern). The
center of the gland, not seen in this section, is the medulla.
