Consider effects of normal amounts, as well as hyper- and hyposecretion.

1.  Cortisol provides a catabolic protective effect against hypoglycemia, enhancing the effectiveness of glucagon, important in response to stress. Hypocortisolism in newborn girls can masculinize the external genitals. In adult females, excess body hair may result.

2.  Thyroid hormone provides substrates for oxidative metabolism in adults and is necessary for full expression of growth hormone in children. Thyroid hormone deficiency in children will be developmentally delayed and short in stature and may have mental retardation. In adults, hypothyroidism may cause cold-intolerance, slow reflexes, fatigue, slow heart rate, and many other conditions.

3.  Growth hormone is anabolic, essential for tissue growth and maintenance. Growth hormone deficiency causes dwarfism and excess causes giantism in children. Acromegaly characterizes GH excess in adults.

4.  Calcitonin is essentially for normal skeletal growth in children, and is important in adults when net bone deposition is needed, such as during pregnancy.