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Cortisol is a steroid hormone in the glucocorticoid class of hormones and a stress hormone. When used as medication, it is known as hydrocortisone. It is produced in many animals, mainly by the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex in an adrenal gland. [1] In other tissues, it is produced in lower quantities. [2]
In humans and other animals, the adrenocortical hormones are hormones produced by the adrenal cortex, the outer region of the adrenal gland.These polycyclic steroid hormones have a variety of roles that are crucial for the body's response to stress (for example, the fight-or-flight response), and they also regulate other functions in the body.
The adrenal gland secretes a basal level of cortisol but can also produce bursts of the hormone in response to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) from the anterior pituitary. Cortisol is not evenly released during the day – its concentrations in the blood are highest in the early morning and lowest in the evening as a result of the circadian ...
The stress induced during exercise results in an increase in the hormones, epinephrine and norepinephrine, which are known for the body's "fight or flight" response. Increased secretion of catecholamines are a hormone response regulated by the sympathoadrenal system (SAS) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA). [ 10 ]
ACTH is an important component of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and is often produced in response to biological stress (along with its precursor corticotropin-releasing hormone from the hypothalamus). Its principal effects are increased production and release of cortisol and androgens by the zona fasiculata and zona reticularis ...
With prolonged suppression, the adrenal glands atrophy (physically shrink), and can take months to recover full function after discontinuation of the exogenous glucocorticoid. During this recovery time, the patient is vulnerable to adrenal insufficiency during times of stress, such as illness. While suppressive dose and time for adrenal ...
The term relates to the increase in circulating levels of adrenaline during physiological stress. [101] Such an increase in the circulating concentration of adrenaline is secondary to the activation of the sympathetic nerves innervating the adrenal medulla, as it is rapid and not present in animals where the adrenal gland has been removed. [102]
Aldosterone is the main mineralocorticoid steroid hormone produced by the zona glomerulosa of the adrenal cortex in the adrenal gland. [4] [5] It is essential for sodium conservation in the kidney, salivary glands, sweat glands, and colon. [6]