ABSTRACT
The adrenal glands are located above the kidneys and consist of an outer layer called the adrenal cortex and an inner core called the adrenal medulla. The medulla is made up of chromaffin cells that release epinephrine and norepinephrine when stimulated. The stimulation comes from the lesser splanchnic nerve of the sympathetic nervous system. The adrenal cortex secretes a large number of hormones. These can be categorized into three groups, the glucocorticoids, the mineralocorticoids and the sex steroids. The main glucocorticoid is cortisol. Cortisol works on all the cells in the body. It increases the level of glucose in the blood, inhibits the uptake of glucose by all cells other than those in the brain, and causes the breakdown of proteins into their constituent amino acids. The main sex steroid released by the adrenal cortex is androstenedione. This contributes to the male and female patterns of body hair.
