Mirilas Petros, Skandalakis J E
Centers for Surgical Anatomy and Technique, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.
Am Surg. 2002 Nov;68(11):1026-8.
The concept of the "incidentaloma," a totally asymptomatic nonfunctional tumor that is clinically and biochemically silent and discovered "incidentally" in a totally asymptomatic patient, is a by-product of the evolving diagnostic techniques of the last three decades. Various authors have used the concept for "incidental" findings during diagnostic workup for symptoms unrelated to adrenal disease, or for "incidental" adrenal tumors unrelated to symptoms that could potentially be of adrenal origin. "Incidentaloma" has been used to encompass a wide and heterogeneous spectrum of pathologic entities including adrenocortical and medullary tumors, benign or malignant lesions, hormonally active or inactive lesions, metastases, infections, granulomas, infiltrations, cysts and pseudocysts, hemorrhages, and pseudoadrenal masses. The term "incidentaloma" does not indicate whether the mass is functional, or malignant, or adrenocortical in origin. "Incidentaloma" has also appeared in the literature in reference to other endocrine organs such as pituitary, thyroid, and parathyroids, as well as the liver or kidney. We question the scientific justification for this neologism and suggest that it should be abolished. Questionable lesions should be clearly and simply described as "incidentally found."
“偶发瘤”这一概念指的是完全无症状的无功能肿瘤，在临床上和生化方面均无异常表现，是在完全无症状的患者中“偶然”发现的，它是过去三十年不断发展的诊断技术的产物。不同作者将这一概念用于与肾上腺疾病无关的症状的诊断检查过程中的“偶然”发现，或者用于与可能源于肾上腺的症状无关的“偶然”肾上腺肿瘤。“偶发瘤”已被用于涵盖广泛且异质性的一系列病理实体，包括肾上腺皮质和髓质肿瘤、良性或恶性病变、有激素活性或无激素活性的病变、转移瘤、感染、肉芽肿、浸润、囊肿和假性囊肿、出血以及假性肾上腺肿块。“偶发瘤”一词并未表明肿块是否有功能、是否为恶性或是否源于肾上腺皮质。“偶发瘤”在文献中也用于指代其他内分泌器官，如垂体、甲状腺和甲状旁腺，以及肝脏或肾脏。我们质疑这个新造词的科学合理性，并建议予以废除。有问题的病变应清晰简单地描述为“偶然发现”。
