Adrenal Zona Fasciculata: Cortisol Production, Not Norepinephrine

The adrenal cortex has three zones:

• Zona glomerulosa: Produces mineralocorticoids (aldosterone).
• Zona fasciculata: Produces glucocorticoids (cortisol).
• Zona reticularis: Produces androgens.

Norepinephrine (noradrenaline) is synthesized in the adrenal medulla (chromaffin cells), not the cortex. The medulla is a modified sympathetic ganglion; the cortex derives from mesoderm. This distinction is clinically important: cortisol excess causes Cushing's syndrome, while medullary tumors (pheochromocytoma) cause catecholamine excess.