The adrenal glands are important endocrine
glands in the human body.
Endocrine glands differ from "exocrine" glands
in that exocrine glands have ducts (so may be referred to as "ducted")
whereas endocrine glands do not have ducts (and so may be referred to
as "ductless").
The adrenal glands are also known as "suprarenal glands",
"surrenal capsules" and "adrenal capsules". Some of these other names
for the adrenal
glands refer to their location in the body - which is on top
of the kidneys. Each adrenal gland covers the superior surface of a kidney
and consists
of two parts, the medulla and the cortex. Each of these parts produce
and secret a distinct group of hormones as summarised below:
For more information visit the full Revision Page about the Adrenal
Glands.
For a diagram indicating the locations within the body of each of
the endocrine glands, visit:
Endocrine
Glands of the Human Body. This may be of particular interest
to students of courses in massage, reflexology,
beauty therapies, and other basic-level medical or clinical courses.
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