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Researched by The Anti-Aging Clinic

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The female endocrine system — glands and hormones

This table lists the major endocrine glands found in women and the hormones they
release, as well as many of the Diffuse Neuro-Endocrine System organs and tissues
in your body and their associated hormones.

This list is not comprehensive; several of the hormones listed here are only newly described, and
so much about hormonal function lies waiting to be discovered. But because Mother Nature is a
great conservationist, we can be certain that all our hormones play important roles.

Major female endocrine glands and their hormones (a partial listing) endocrine glands are small but powerful organs that are located throughout the body. They control very important body functions by releasing hormones.

Gland/organ	Hormone(s) released
Hypothalamus	• thyrotropin releasing hormone • release inhibiting hormones
Pituitary	• thyrotropin/thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) • adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) • luteinizing hormone (LH) • follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) • growth hormone (GH) • prolactin • melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) • oxytocin • antidiuretic hormone (ADH, or vasopressin)
Pineal	• melatonin
Thyroid and parathyroid	• thyroxine (T4) • triiodothyronine (T3) • calcitonin (CT) • parathyroid hormone (PH)
Thymus	• thymosin • thymopoietin • serum thymic factor
Adrenals	• epinephrine • norepinephrine • testosterone • estrogen • dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) • aldosterone • cortisol • corticosterone
Pancreas (islets of Langerhans)	• insulin • glucagon • somatostatin (also secreted elsewhere)
Ovaries	• estrone • estradiol • estriol • progesterone • testosterone
Placenta	• human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)
Breasts	• estrogen

The Diffuse Neuro-Endocrine System (DNES) (other organs and tissues that secrete hormones)

Tissue/organ	Hormone(s) released
Adipose tissue (fat) (Note that with development of truncal obesity (fat body with thin limbs or centripetal obesity is called truncal obesity) , adipose tissue begins to function as a major player in the endocrine system. Adipose tissue is a type of connective tissue that contains stored cellular fat.	• leptin • adiponectin • resistin • plasminogen activating inhibitor–1 (PAI–1) • estrogen • and others
Skin	• vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol is the Generic Name for all D-vitamins)
Stomach and small intestine	• gastrin • secretin • cholecystokinin • ghrelin • motilin
Liver	• 25–hydroxycholecalciferol
Kidneys	• erythropoietin (EPO) • 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol • rennin
Heart	• atrial natriuretic hormone

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