Skip to main content

Adrenal Gland - Its Layers and Hormones - Hormones secreted by different layers of Adrenal Gland.


location-of-adrenal-glands-image

Adrenal Glands are two in number and each one is located on the anterosuperior aspect of each kidney.
The adrenal gland is an important gland of the body which secretes many important hormones which control various important functions of the human body.

When we cut adrenal gland cross-sectionally we see two distinct regions. The outer one is called Cortex and the inner zone is called medulla. Each zone consists of different cells which secrete different hormones.
The Cortex is further divided into three layers.



  • The outer one is called zona glomerulosa
  • The middle is called zona fasciculata 
  • and the innermost layer is called zona reticularis.
layers-of-adrenal-gland-and-hormones-overview
Layers of the adrenal gland and hormones secretion by different zones



Adrenal Cortical Hormones:

Adrenal cortical hormones secretion is controlled by the level of ACTH (adrenocorticotrophic hormone). ACTH is secreted by the pituitary gland.
following hormones are secreted by different zones of the adrenal gland.

Zona glomerulosa secretes mineralocorticoids especially Aldosterone - Aldosterone controls blood volume and blood pressure. it is involved in haemodynamics. 

Zona fasciculata secretes glucocorticoids. The most important one is called cortisol. Cortisol is involved in stress and it is an important hormone in managing stress.

Zona reticularis secretes Androgens. These hormones are responsible for the development of sexual Characteristics.
Adrenal Medullary Hormones:


The adrenal medulla secretes two important hormones, epinephrine and nor epinephrine. these are also called adrenaline (epinephrine) and non-adrenaline (nor epinephrine). These hormones help to fight with the stressful condition, control blood pressure, increase heart rate, affect body metabolism and various other functions.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Human Parasites, Types of Parasites, and Classification

Parasite: A parasite is a living organism which gets nutrition and protection from another organism where it lives. Parasites enter into the human body through mouth, skin and genitalia. In this article, we will generally discuss the types and classification of parasites. It is important from an academic point of view. Those parasites are harmful, which derives their nutrition and other benefits from the host and host get nothing in return but suffers from some injury. Types of Parasites Ecto-parasite: An ectoparasite lives outside on the surface of the body of the host. Endo-parasite: An endo-parasite lives inside the body of the host, it lives in the blood, tissues, body cavities, digestive tract or other organs. Temporary parasite: A temporary parasite visits its host for a short period of time. Permanent parasite: Permanent parasite lives its whole life in the host. Facultative parasite: A facultative parasite can live both independently and dependently. It lives in the

How to taper off, wean off beta blocker, atenolol, Propranolol, Metoprolol

Beta blockers include, atenolol (Tenormin), propranolol (Inderal ) and metoprolol (Lopressor) and are used to treat high blood pressure, certain cardiac problems, migraine and few other conditions. People usually take atenolol, propranolol or metoprolol for many years as a treatment of high blood pressure or after having an episode of heart attack . Sometimes, it becomes necessary to withdraw these beta blockers due to their potential side effects that trouble the patients or sometimes doctor wants to change the drug and shift the patient to some other anti-hypertensive medicine. No matter whatever the cause is, whenever, a patient who has been using a beta blocker for a long period of time, and he needs to be stopped from further usage of that beta blocker, must not stop taking it. One should taper off the dose of a beta blocker. Now a question arises how to wean off or taper off a beta blocker? The method of tapering off beta blocker varies from individual to individual. Allow you

Difficulty in standing up from a sitting or squatting position, Causes & Solution

People who feel it difficult to stand up from a sitting or squatting position may have problem in one or more of the following structures. 1. Knee joint 2. Muscles of legs, thighs or buttock 3. Muscles of arms 4. Cerebellum Let’s now explain one by one, what kind of problems in above structures may cause difficulty in standing up from a sitting or squatting position. 1. How do problems in knee joints lead to difficulty in standing up? Knee joint is one of the primary and most affected joint that takes part in standing up. Other joints that take part are hip, ankle, knee, elbow, wrist and shoulder joint. Knee joint gets the most strain , and also knee joint is comparatively less supported. That’s why usually it’s the knee joint that starts to cry first because of arthritis. Knee joint arthritis causes long term knee pain , that makes the movement difficult at knee joint. Arthritis also makes the knee joint stiffer and slower and its range of motion also decreases. All these affects coll