Which gland produces testosterone

Hormones are chemical messengers made by glands in your body, which are carried in your blood to act on other organs in the body. You need hormones for growth, reproduction and well-being.

The pituitary gland and the hypothalamus , located at the base of your brain, control the production of your male hormones and sperm. The hypothalamus makes gonadotropin-releasing hormone GnRH , which controls the release of other hormones from your pituitary gland. The hormones from the pituitary travel through your blood to make changes in your testicles.

Androgens are male sex hormones that increase at puberty. You need them to develop into a sexually mature adult who can reproduce.

Testosterone is the most important androgen male sex hormone. You need it to have normal reproductive and sexual function. Testosterone is important for the physical changes that happen during puberty, such as the development of the penis, testicles, facial and body hair, and muscle growth. Testosterone acts on cells in your testicles to make sperm. Testosterone is also important for overall good health. Testosterone is secreted by cells that lie between the seminiferous tubules, known as the Leydig cells.

Testosterone is important in the first stages of developing the male reproductive organs in a foetus. It also causes the development of male characteristics such as growth of facial hair, deepening of the voice and the growth spurt that takes place during puberty.

From puberty onwards, testosterone provides the main stimulus for sperm production. Many things can wrong with the testes; they can be grouped into physical injury and diseases or conditions that affect the function of the testes:. Other factors that can affect the function of the testes are radiation and chemotherapy used in the treatment of cancer , certain drugs, and disorders of the pituitary gland that stop signals from the hormone endocrine system that trigger production of testosterone from the testes.

About Contact Events News. Search Search. You and Your Hormones. Students Teachers Patients Browse. Human body. Women and children should not touch the gel or the skin where the gel or patch is applied. In older men with true testosterone deficiencies, testosterone treatment has been shown to increase strength and sex drive, experts say.

But sometimes, symptoms of erectile dysfunction are due to other conditions, including diabetes and depression, according to the Mayo Clinic. Treating these men with testosterone hormone won't improve symptoms. There are a lot of other claims about what testosterone therapy can do, but are also still being tested. For instance, it was thought that maybe it would help with age-related memory loss.

A placebo-controlled study published in JAMA, found that in the older men tested, testosterone treatment did not help with age-related memory loss. It may also become a treatment for anemia, bone density and strength problems.

In a study published in the journal of the American Medical Association JAMA , testosterone treatments corrected anemia in older men with low testosterone levels better than a placebo. Another study published in JAMA found that older men with low testosterone had increased bone strength and density after treatment when compared with a placebo.

The safety of testosterone treatment is still being researched. It has several possible side effects and some possible long-term effects, as well. For example, testosterone treatment lowers sperm count , so Michael A. Werner , a specialist in andropause, or "male menopause," recommends that men who desire future fertility avoid testosterone treatments. Other side effects include increased risk of heart problems in older men with poor mobility, according to a study at Boston Medical Center.

A study published in JAMA found that treatments increase coronary artery plaque volume.