RT Book, Section
A1 Roizen, Jeffrey D.
A1 Palladino, Andrew A.
A2 Zaoutis, Lisa B.
A2 Chiang, Vincent W.
SR Print(0)
ID 1146116511
T1 Disorders of the Adrenal Gland
T2 Comprehensive Pediatric Hospital Medicine, 2e
YR 2017
FD 2017
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071829281
LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1146116511
RD 2024/04/19
AB The  adrenal  gland  is  responsible  for  producing  two  kinds  of  signaling  molecules:  steroid  hormones,  produced  in  the  outer  adrenal  cortex,  and  catecholamines,  generated  in  the  adrenal  medulla.  Steroids  can  further  be  divided  into  mineralocorticoid  (aldosterone),  glucocorticoid  (cortisol)  and  androgen  (dehydroepiandrosterone  [DHEA]  and  dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate  [DHEA-S])  classes.  Each  of  these  steroids  is  stereotypically  produced  by  histologically  differentiable  cells  in  a  particular  layer  of  the  adrenal  cortex—the  outermost  zona  glomerulosa  produces  aldosterone,  the  middle  zona  fasciculata  produces  cortisol,  and  the  innermost  zona  reticularis  produces  DHEA  and  DHEA-S.  Control  of  steroid  hormone  production  and  release,  however,  occurs  outside  of  the  adrenal  gland;  aldosterone  is  primarily  controlled  by  the  renin-angiotensin  system  and  cortisol  is  regulated  by  adrenocorticotropic  hormone  (ACTH)  from  the  pituitary  gland,  which  itself  is  regulated  by  hypothalamic  secretion  of  corticotropin-releasing  hormone  (CRH).  Although  DHEA-S  is  the  most  abundant  androgen  in  serum,  the  control  and  function  of  DHEA  and  DHEA-S  are  less  well  understood.