The pituitary gland
The pituitary is a small pea-sized gland in your head that produces a hormone called adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) that tells your adrenal glands what to do.
Many conditions affect the functioning of the pituitary gland, including;
- autoimmune disease
- pituitary tumors or infection
- bleeding in the pituitary
- genetic diseases that affect the way the pituitary gland develops or functions
- surgical removal of the pituitary to treat other conditions
- traumatic brain injury
If the pituitary gland stops sending these hormone signals, the adrenal glands don’t work properly and can't produce the essetial hormone cortisol.