Stress and adrenal function.

The natural environment is composed of various potentially hostile stressors. It is a basic requirement of life that the cells of an organism must be maintained within closely defined physiological limits. The maintenance of a constant interior mileu results from physiological and behavioural homeostatic adaptations. The physiological regulation of homeostatis is achieved by complex endocrine interactions, principally by the hormones secreted from the adrenal glands. In this brief review the responses of the avian adrenal glands to stressful stimuli, the mechanism of adrenal activation, and the function of the adrenal responses will be considered.