ABSTRACT. The hypothalamic-hypopyseal-adrenal system is responsible for the whole defense strategy of the human body against stress. In this context, there is sustained evidence that adrenal medulla, with its specific chromaffine cells, promptly responds to stress-related signals, releasing its content of catecholamines into the blood and enabling the organism to get through stressful conditions. This complex process is never isolated, but interferes with the secretory activity of the
adrenal cortex, the whole gland reacting as a very fine stress sensor. The adrenal medulla has a special ability in adapting its cellular component to a distinct communication mechanism, which may represent the key to cathecolamine secretion. pp. 235–237
Keywords: adrenal medulla, chromaffine, stress, cathecolamine