The organ of Zuckerkandl is a chromaffin body derived from the neural crest located at the bifurcation of the aorta or at the origin of the inferior mesenteric artery.

This diffused group of neuroendocrine sympathetic fibres was first described by Emil Zuckerkandl, a professor of anatomy at the University of Vienna, in 1901.

[6] Its physiological role is thought to be of the greatest importance during the early gestational period as a homeostatic regulator of blood pressure, secreting catecholamines into the fetal circulation.

The organ itself regresses in the late third trimester and following birth to form the aorticosympathetic group of the adult paraganglia.

[8] The organ of Zuckerkandl is of pathological significance in the adult as a common extra-adrenal site of pheochromocytoma though the most common extra-adrenal site is in the superior para-aortic region between the diaphragm and lower renal poles.