Hibernomas, Brown Fat Tumors

Abstract

Hibernoma is the term which has been given to a very rare human neoplasm of brown fat. Brown fat is a little understood tissue which has been found in many different animals, including man.¹It is most highly developed in hibernating animals and for a long time was thought to play an important role during the state of hibernation; hence, the name "hibernating gland." It has also been known as the interscapular gland, the primitive fat organ, the adipose gland, as well as being called more simply, brown adipose tissue or glandular fat. Investigations into the functions of brown fat have failed to prove that it is directly connected with hibernation,^*or that it serves in any way as an endocrine gland. The present thought among zoologists and anatomists is that it is a special fat, different from adipose tissue,† but to which as yet no