The Adrenal Glands and Adrenal Disorders Quiz

See The Adrenal Glands. Option B is correct because the adrenal cortex is built in three layers, and the outermost layer, the zona glomerulosa, is the one that makes the mineralocorticoids. Aldosterone is the most abundant mineralocorticoid, and its main job is to control the levels of sodium and potassium in the blood, and through them arterial blood pressure. It does this by acting on the distal tubules and collecting ducts of the kidney. All the cortical hormones are steroid hormones, which means they are made from cholesterol, and each layer makes a different type: the outer layer makes mineralocorticoids, the middle layer (the zona fasciculata) makes glucocorticoids such as cortisol, and the inner layer (the zona reticularis) makes androgens and some glucocorticoids. Below the cortex lies the medulla, which belongs to the sympathetic nervous system and makes adrenaline and noradrenaline. A well-known memory aid is "salt, sugar, sex; the deeper you go the sweeter it gets": salt is aldosterone, sugar is cortisol and sex is the androgens, in order from the outside to the inside.

• Site: the outermost layer of the adrenal cortex, the zona glomerulosa, makes the mineralocorticoids.
• Main product: aldosterone controls sodium and potassium in the blood, and so blood pressure, by acting on the distal tubules and collecting ducts.
• Other layers: the middle layer makes glucocorticoids such as cortisol and the inner layer makes androgens.
• Medulla: the medulla below the cortex belongs to the sympathetic nervous system and makes adrenaline and noradrenaline.