The presence of intracellular crystal-shaped bodies in the adrenal cortex or full-term fetuses and newborns in rats.

The presence of crystal-shaped bodies was demonstrated in the adrenocortical cells of perinatal rats. On the basis of former histochemical evidence on similar structures, they are supposed to have contained cholesterol. The total cholesterol concentration in the adrenal was not elevated during this period. The presence of a great number of crystal-shaped bodies is supposed to be the sign of a transient change in cholesterol compartmentalisation.