The organ of Zuckerkandl is a body of extra-adrenal chromaffin cells. Normally quiescent in adults, the clusters of chromaffin cells can serve as sites of tumour development. In the first study to specifically focus on this anatomical site, Lodish and colleagues investigated the genetic defects evident in paragangliomas arising from the organ of Zuckerkandl. They found that mutations in genes encoding succinate dehydrogenase subunits were highly prevalent. Lodish et al. (2010) Endocrine-Related Cancer 17 (3), 581-588.

DOI: 10.1677/ERC-10-0004