Last updated on October 20th, 2022 at 07:58 am
What are hormones? Are you confused by the many types of hormones? How do they affect us? Find out our 36 hormones list, everything you like to know about them.
What are hormones and What Do they do?
Quick Jump Table
Hormones are special chemical messengers in the body that are created in the endocrine glands.
These messengers control most major bodily functions, from simple basic needs like hunger to complex systems like reproduction, and even the emotions and mood. Understanding the major hormones and what they do will help patients take control of their health.
The GLANDS and ENDOCRINE System
The best way to answer the question “what are hormones?” is to look at some of the major hormonal systems in the body. Hormones are created by glands, which are part of the endocrine system. The main hormone-producing glands are:
- Hypothalamus: The hypothalamus handles body temperature, hunger, moods, and the release of hormones from other glands; and also controls thirst, sleep and sex drive.
- Parathyroid: This gland controls the amount of calcium in the body.
- Thymus: This gland plays a role in the function of the adaptive immune system and the maturity of the thymus, and produces T-cells.
- Pancreas: This gland produces insulin that helps control blood sugar levels.
- Thyroid: The thyroid produces hormones associated with calorie burning and heart rate.
- Adrenal: Adrenal glands produce the hormones that control sex drive and cortisol, the stress hormone.
- Pituitary: Considered the “master control gland,” the pituitary gland controls other glands and makes the hormones that trigger growth.
- Pineal: Also called the thalamus, this gland produces serotonin derivatives of melatonin, which affects sleep.
- Ovaries: Only in women, the ovaries secrete estrogen, testosterone and progesterone, the female sex hormones.
- Testes: Only in men, the testes produce the male sex hormone, testosterone, and produce sperm.
Types of Hormones
What do hormones do, exactly? The body has many hormones, but certain types have a bigger role to play in the body’s health and well-being. Understanding these roles is important for those looking to protect and manage their health.
For women, estrogen (or estradiol) is the main sex hormone. It causes puberty, prepares the body and uterus for pregnancy, and regulates the menstrual cycle. During menopause, estrogen level changes cause many of the uncomfortable symptoms women experience.
Progesterone is like estrogen but is not considered the main sex hormone. Like estrogen, it assists with the menstrual cycle and plays a role in pregnancy.
Cortisol has been called the “stress hormone” because of the way it assists the body in responding to stress. This is just one of several functions of this important hormone.
Melatonin levels change throughout the day, increasing after dark to trigger the responses that cause sleep.
Testosterone is the main sex hormone in men. It causes puberty, increases bone density, triggers facial hair growth, and causes muscle mass growth and strength.
What is Anti-Mullerian Hormone?
- Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) is a protein made by the cells that surround each egg
- AMH is produced the most during the small pre-antral stages
- AMH stops producing as follicles grow and nearly no AMH is produced once a follicle hits 8mm in size
- The more eggs a woman has, the higher her AMH level should be
- A simple blood test can determine a woman’s AMH levels
About eight weeks after conception, the human fetus has two sets of ducts, one of which can develop into the male reproductive tract and the other into the female reproductive tract. If the fetus is genetically male (XY chromosomes) then the embryonic testes will produce anti-Müllerian hormone. This causes the Müllerian (female) ducts to disappear, hence the term anti-Müllerian hormone, whilst testosterone produced by the testes causes the male (Wolffian) ducts to survive.
The Wolffian ducts develop into the different parts of the male reproductive system: the epididymis, the vas deferens, the seminal vesicles, and the prostate gland. In a female fetus (XX chromosomes) the Wolffian ducts disappear (because of the lack of testosterone) and the Müllerian ducts develop into the fallopian tubes, uterus (womb), cervix and the upper part of the vagina.
Anti-Müllerian hormone may also have a role in regulating sex steroid production in puberty and in the adult ovaries and testes. In the ovaries, the anti-Müllerian hormone appears to be important in the early stages of development of the follicles, which contain and support the eggs prior to fertilization. The more ovarian follicles a woman has, the more anti-Müllerian hormone her ovaries can produce, and so AMH can be measured in the bloodstream to assess how many follicles a woman has left in her ovaries: her ovarian reserve.
Blood Test for Hormones
Blood or urine tests can determine the levels of various hormones in the body. This includes reproductive hormones, thyroid hormones, adrenal hormones, pituitary hormones, and many others. For more information, see:
36 Hormones List
- 5-HIAA
- 17-OH progesterone
- 17-hydroxycorticosteroids
- 17-ketosteroids
- 24-hour urinary aldosterone excretion rate
- 25-OH vitamin D
- Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
- ACTH stimulation test
- ACTH suppression test
- ADH
- Aldosterone
- Calcitonin
- Catecholamines–blood
- Catecholamines–urine
- Cortisol level
- Cortisol–urine
- DHEA-sulfate
- Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)
- Growth hormone
- HCG (qualitative–blood)
- HCG (qualitative – urine)
- HCG (quantitative)
- Luteinizing hormone (LH)
- LH response to GnRH
- Parathormone
- Prolactin
- PTH-related peptide
- Renin
- T3RU test
- Secretin stimulation test
- Serotonin
- T3
- T4
- Testosterone
- Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)
- Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH)
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