adrenal gland

or (less commonly) suprarenal gland an endocrine organ in vertebrates. There is a single pair in mammals, one near each kidney; in other vertebrates there may be multiple adrenal glands. The gland has two components: an inner medulla, derived from the neural crest, that biosynthesizes and secretes epinephrine and norepinephrine; and an outer cortex, derived from the coelom, that is concerned in the biosynthesis and secretion of steroid hormones. The cortex consists in turn of three histologically defined zones: an outer zona glomerulosa, the cells of which are responsible for the biosynthesis of aldosterone and deoxycorticosterone; an intermediate zona fasciculata; and an inner zona reticularis. The cells of the zona fasciculata and zona reticularis are responsible for the biosynthesis of the glucocorticoid cortisol and the androgens dehydroepiandrosterone and androstenedione.

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