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cortex
cortex in botany, term generally applied to the outer soft tissues of the leaves, stems, and roots of plants. Cortical cells of the leaves and outer layers of nonwoody stems contain chloroplasts, and are modified for food storage (usually in the form of starch) in roots and the inner layers of stem...
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adrenal gland
adrenal gland or suprarenal gland , endocrine gland (see endocrine system ) about 2 in. (5.1 cm) long situated atop each kidney. The outer yellowish layer (cortex) of the adrenal gland secretes about 30 steroid hormones, the most important of which are aldosterone and cortisol . Cortisol reg...
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aldosterone
aldosterone , steroid secreted by the cortex of the adrenal gland. It is the most potent hormone regulating the body's electrolyte balance. Aldosterone acts directly on the kidney to decrease the rate of sodium-ion excretion (with accompanying retention of water), and to increase the rate of potas...
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cortisol
cortisol or hydrocortisone, steroid hormone that in humans is the major circulating hormone of the cortex, or outer layer, of the adrenal gland . Like cortisone , cortisol is classed as a glucocorticoid; it stimulates liver glycogen formation while it decreases the rate of glucose utilizati...
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corticosterone
corticosterone , steroid hormone secreted by the outer layer, or cortex, of the adrenal gland . Classed as a glucocorticoid, corticosterone helps regulate the conversion of amino acids into carbohydrates and glycogen by the liver, and helps stimulate glycogen formation in the tissues. Corticoster...
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Edward Calvin Kendall
Edward Calvin Kendall 1886-1972, American biochemist, b. South Norwalk, Conn., grad. Columbia (B.S., 1908; Ph.D., 1910). At St. Luke's Hospital, New York City, he did research on the thyroid gland (1911-14). He became (1914) head of the biochemistry section at the Mayo Clinic and was (1921-51) prof...
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steroids
steroids class of lipids having a particular molecular ring structure called the cyclopentanoperhydro-phenanthrene ring system. Steroids differ from one another in the structure of various side chains and additional rings. Steroids are common in both plants and animals. In humans, steroids are se...
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Torsten Nils Wiesel
Torsten Nils Wiesel 1924-, Swedish neurobiologist, b. Uppsala, Sweden. After earning a degree in medicine from Karolinska Univ., Stockholm (1954), he took a research position at Johns Hopkins Univ., where he began his work with David Hunter Hubel . The two relocated their research operations to Ha...
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hair
hair slender threadlike outgrowth from the skin of mammals. In some animals hair grows in dense profusion and is called fur or wool . Although all mammals show some indication of hair formation, dense hair is more common among species located in colder climates and has the obvious function of in...
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Addison's disease
Addison's disease [for Thomas Addison ], progressive disease brought about by atrophy of the outer layer, or cortex, of the adrenal gland ; it is also called chronic adrenocortical insufficiency. The deterioration of this tissue causes a decrease in the secretion of steroid hormones, many of whic...
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