adrenal virilism, a condition characterized by hypersecretion of adrenal androgens, resulting in somatic masculinization. Excessive production of the hormone may be caused by a virilizing adrenal tumor, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, or an inborn deficiency of enzymes required to transform endogenous androgenic steroids to glucocorticoids. Girls born with adrenogenitalism may be pseudohermaphroditic with clitoral enlargement and labial fusion in infancy and later have low vocal pitch, acne, amenorrhea, and masculine distribution of hair and muscle development. Boys with congenital adrenogenitalism show precocious development of the penis, the prostate, and pubic and axillary hair, but their testes remain small and immature because negative feedback from the high level of adrenal androgens prevents the normal pubertal increase in pituitary gonadotropin levels. Children with the disorder are unusually tall, but their epiphyses close prematurely, and as adults they are abnormally short. Virilizing tumors are more common or more frequently diagnosed in women; they usually occur between 30 and 40 years of age but may arise later, after menopause. Signs of the tumor in women include hirsutism, amenorrhea, oily skin, ovarian changes, muscular hypertrophy, and atrophy of the uterus and breasts. Treatment may involve tumor resection, cortisol administration, and cosmetic surgery. Electrolytic hair removal may be indicated. Also called adrenogenital syndrome.
