This concept, within endocrine pathology/physiology, describes the functional roles of the adrenal cortex's three zonal hormone classes and the adrenal medulla. Cortisol (a glucocorticoid, from the zona fasciculata) acts as a stress hormone promoting gluconeogenesis, protein catabolism, insulin resistance, and suppression of the inflammatory response via phospholipase A2 inhibition; aldosterone (a mineralocorticoid, from the zona glomerulosa, regulated primarily by angiotensin II) promotes sodium and water reabsorption via the sodium-potassium pump and epithelial sodium channel; and androgens (from the zona reticularis, under ACTH control) can cause virilization when overproduced. Steroid hormone receptors are located intracellularly in the cytoplasm, consistent with these hormones' lipid-soluble, membrane-permeant nature.
This concept, within endocrine pathology/physiology, describes the functional roles of the adrenal cortex's three zonal hormone classes and the adrenal medulla. Cortisol (a glucocorticoid, from the z…