Adrenal cortex layers and hormones vs adrenal medulla: how to remember glomerulosa, fasciculata, reticularis and what each makes?
Kavya NaikDropper Sample
15 Oct 2026 · 1 min read
Amma says I study like I'm trying to eat an elephant in one bite, so today I decided to do only the adrenal gland and nothing else. And it's still messy.
From NCERT I have this: the adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys (anterior part of each kidney). There is a central medulla and an outer cortex. The medulla secretes adrenaline and noradrenaline (catecholamines), called emergency or "fight or flight" hormones. The cortex has three layers: zona reticularis (inner), zona fasciculata (middle) and zona glomerulosa (outer), and secretes glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids, plus small amounts of androgenic steroids.
I have two real problems.
- Which layer makes which hormone? NCERT doesn't say it clearly, and my teacher gave a funny sentence which I forgot.
- The functions are a long list and my brain mixes cortisol and aldosterone. I wrote "cortisol: increases blood glucose, anti-inflammatory" and "aldosterone: Na⁺ and water reabsorption, K⁺ out" but I'm not sure I'm not missing something. Also what happens when the cortex doesn't work properly?
Also, how is it that adrenaline makes the heart beat faster and also raises glucose? Which receptors/effects? Honestly any trick would help 🙏
8 answers & replies
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[+][–]Ishita GoyalDropperSample· 4d ago
Layers, from the outside in: Glomerulosa, Fasciculata, Reticularis → "GFR". (The kidney's GFR, not to be confused, but it's a fun overlap.)
The mnemonic I used: "Salt, Sugar, Sex", in that same order, and "the deeper you go, the sweeter it gets".
- Glomerulosa (outer) → salt → mineralocorticoids (aldosterone)
- Fasciculata (middle) → sugar → glucocorticoids (cortisol)
- Reticularis (inner) → sex → small amounts of androgenic steroids
And the medulla is the core, producing adrenaline + noradrenaline.
[+][–]Kavya NaikDropperSample· 4d agoAuthor
Salt, Sugar, Sex. I'll never forget it, ayyo. Thank you Ishita! Writing it on my hand in pen 😂
[+][–]Harsh Gupta12thSample· 4d ago
PCM guy here but my sister is doing NEET and I got dragged into this at dinner 😂 The "fight or flight" list that she makes me recite: pupils dilate, hair stands up (piloerection), sweating, heart beats faster and harder, breathing rate up, and the body breaks down glycogen to get more glucose, plus fat and protein breakdown. Basically the body is going into "run from the tiger" mode and nobody is thinking about digestion. Adrenaline is what you feel before a mock test and I have a lot of it.
[+][–]Neel Chatterjee12thSample· 4d ago
PCM here too, can confirm the adrenaline before a chess tournament. My heart rate goes crazy even before I touch a piece. Now I know it's the medulla's fault.
[+][–]Nisha Verma12thSample· 4d ago
Cortisol: stimulates gluconeogenesis, lipolysis and proteolysis, so blood sugar goes up. It's also the "stress hormone", so it boosts your immune response and fights inflammation, and it increases RBC production. So when you're stressed your body is ready to fight infections. That's why we call it the immune booster hormone.
[+][–]Zoya Khan12thSample· 4d ago
Nisha, most of that is right but one part is reversed, and it's an NEET favourite so it's worth fixing. Cortisol suppresses the immune response and has anti-inflammatory effects. That's why steroid medicines (synthetic glucocorticoids) are used to calm allergies and inflammation, and why people on them for a long time are more prone to infections. It also stimulates RBC production, so that part is right. And Kavya, your two lines are correct. Another line that's good to add under cortisol: it inhibits the cellular uptake and utilisation of amino acids, which supports the "raise blood glucose" role.
Aldosterone, addition: it also helps maintain electrolytes, body fluid volume, osmotic pressure and blood pressure.
[+][–]Kavya NaikDropperSample· 4d agoAuthor
Okay, so cortisol suppresses the immune system, I had noted it as a "boost" in my head for some reason. Thank you Zoya, the steroid medicine reason makes it stick.
[+][–]Rahul DubeyDropperSample· 4d ago
Your last question first: adrenaline gives a quick, widespread "go" effect because many tissues have receptors for it, and the result depends on the tissue. In the heart it increases heart rate and strength of contraction; in the liver and muscle it triggers glycogen breakdown, which raises blood glucose. That's one hormone with different effects in different target cells (and it's very quick but short-lived, which suits an emergency).
Second, when the cortex is underactive the condition is Addison's disease: low cortisol and aldosterone cause weakness, low blood pressure and loss of sodium. When it's overactive with excess cortisol the condition is Cushing's syndrome. Addison's is actually named in NCERT (weakness and fatigue from low cortex hormones), Cushing's isn't, but both show up in option lists.
Fun detail that helps with "which is medulla": the medulla comes from neural tissue (neural crest, ectodermal) and is basically a modified sympathetic ganglion, which is why it responds in seconds like a nerve, while the cortex (mesodermal) responds with slower steroids.
