Where Hormone Is Produced | Hormone | Function |
---|---|---|
Adipose (fat) tissue | Leptin | Regulates energy balance by controlling appetite |
Resistin | Blocks the effects of insulin on muscle | |
Adrenal glands | Aldosterone | Helps regulate salt and water balance by causing the kidneys to retain salt and water and excrete potassium |
Cortisol | Has widespread effects throughout the body Especially has anti-inflammatory action Maintains blood sugar level, blood pressure, and muscle strength Helps control salt and water balance | |
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) | Used in the production of androgens (male sex hormones) and estrogens (female sex hormones) Has effects on bone, mood, and the immune system | |
Epinephrine and norepinephrine | Stimulate the heart, lungs, blood vessels, and nervous system | |
Digestive tract | Cholecystokinin | Controls gallbladder contractions that cause bile to enter the intestine Stimulates release of digestive enzymes from the pancreas |
Ghrelin | Controls growth hormone release from the pituitary gland Causes sensation of hunger | |
Glucagon-like peptide | Increases insulin release from the pancreas | |
Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide | Controls smooth muscle cell activity, epithelial cell secretions, and blood flow in the gastrointestinal tract | |
Hypothalamus | Corticotropin-releasing hormone | Stimulates release of corticotropin (also called adrenocorticotropic hormone [ACTH]) |
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone | Stimulates release of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone | |
Growth hormone–releasing hormone | Stimulates release of growth hormone | |
Somatostatin | Inhibits release of growth hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, and insulin | |
Thyrotropin-releasing hormone | Stimulates the release of thyroid-stimulating hormone and prolactin | |
Kidneys | Erythropoietin | Stimulates red blood cell production |
Renin | Controls sodium, potassium, and water levels that affect blood pressure | |
Ovaries | Estrogen | Controls the development of female sex characteristics and the reproductive system |
Progesterone | Prepares the lining of the uterus for implantation of a fertilized egg and readies the mammary glands to secrete milk | |
Pancreas | Glucagon | Raises the blood sugar level |
Insulin | Lowers the blood sugar level Affects the processing (metabolism) of sugar, protein, and fat throughout the body | |
Parathyroid glands | Parathyroid hormone | Controls bone formation, blood calcium level, and the excretion of calcium and phosphorus by the kidneys |
Pituitary gland | Corticotropin (also called adrenocorticotropic hormone [ACTH]) | Controls the production and secretion of hormones by the adrenal glands |
Growth hormone | Controls growth and development Promotes protein production | |
Luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone | Control reproductive functions, including the production of sperm and semen in men and egg maturation and menstrual cycles in women Control male and female sexual characteristics (including hair distribution, muscle formation, skin texture and thickness, pitch of voice, and perhaps even personality traits) | |
Oxytocin | Causes muscles of the uterus to contract during childbirth and after delivery and stimulates contractions of milk ducts in the breast, which move milk to the nipple | |
Prolactin | Starts and maintains milk production in the ductal glands of the breast (mammary glands) | |
Thyroid-stimulating hormone | Stimulates the production and secretion of hormones by the thyroid gland | |
Vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone) | Causes kidneys to retain water to prevent dehydration and, along with aldosterone, helps control blood pressure | |
Placenta | Chorionic gonadotropin | Stimulates ovaries to continue to release progesterone during early pregnancy |
Estrogen and progesterone | Keep uterus receptive to fetus and placenta during pregnancy | |
Testes | Testosterone | Controls the development of male sex characteristics and the reproductive system |
Thyroid gland | Calcitonin | Tends to decrease blood calcium levels and helps regulate calcium balance |
Thyroid hormones | Regulate the rate at which the body functions (metabolic rate) |