Endocrine System Diagram – The Glands to Label

All 8 glands on the diagram

Show the list

Start here: 4 main glands 4

Pituitary gland Its hormones control many other glands. A bean-sized gland hanging from the hypothalamus by a stalk, cradled in a hollow of the skull.
Thyroid gland A butterfly-shaped gland in the front of the neck, below the larynx. Its hormones set the body’s basal metabolism.
Adrenal glands A gland on top of each kidney. They release epinephrine (adrenaline) for the fight-or-flight response, and cortisol.
Pancreas A long, slender organ, mostly behind the stomach. Its islets release insulin and glucagon, which control blood sugar.

Other 4

Hypothalamus A part of the brain that makes hormones. It controls the pituitary gland below it, linking the nervous and endocrine systems.
Pineal gland A small gland deep in the brain that releases melatonin. Melatonin helps set the body’s daily sleep and wake rhythm.
Parathyroid glands Tiny round glands on the back of the thyroid, usually four. Their hormone raises the level of calcium in the blood.
Thymus An immune organ in the upper chest, largest in childhood. Its hormones, thymosins, help T cells develop.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-28. (1) OpenStax, Anatomy and Physiology 2e, chapter 17 (openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e): 17.1 the endocrine system includes the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal and pineal glands; the pancreas secretes insulin and glucagon; the hypothalamus and thymus are among the organs with endocrine cells (Figure 17.2). 17.3 the pituitary, a bean-sized organ suspended from the hypothalamus by the infundibulum, in the sella turcica. 17.4 the butterfly-shaped thyroid, anterior to the trachea, just inferior to the larynx; basal metabolism. 17.5 tiny round parathyroid glands on the posterior surface of the thyroid, most people have four; blood calcium. 17.6 the adrenal glands on top of the kidneys; epinephrine and norepinephrine (fight-or-flight) and cortisol. 17.7 the pineal gland and melatonin, circadian rhythms. 17.9 the pancreas, long and slender, mostly posterior to the bottom half of the stomach; islets, insulin and glucagon. 17.10 the thymus, larger in infancy and childhood; thymosins aid T lymphocyte development. (2) Wikipedia, Endocrine system, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_system : the major glands, including hypothalamus, pituitary, pineal, thyroid, parathyroid, thymus, adrenal glands and pancreas. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-04 by script. The outline of the body follows the front view of "Silhouette humain asexue anterieur posterieur.svg" by Christophe Dang Ngoc Chan (cdang), 2013, Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silhouette_humain_asexue_anterieur_posterieur.svg), CC0 1.0 public domain dedication, itself drawn after Mikael Haggstrom's public domain photograph "Human Body.jpg"; its left half is mirrored, it is cut at the hips, and the crown of the head and the ears are drawn here. The glands, the brain, the larynx and windpipe, the lungs and the kidneys with their ureters are own work, laid out after Gray's Anatomy, 20th edition, 1918 (Henry Gray, drawn by Henry Vandyke Carter and others; public domain), fig. 1174 (the thyroid gland and its relations), fig. 1178 (the thymus of a full-term fetus), fig. 1121 (posterior abdominal wall, showing kidneys and suprarenal capsules) and fig. 1098 (the duodenum and pancreas), and after "Illu endocrine system.jpg" of the US National Cancer Institute SEER training modules (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Illu_endocrine_system.jpg, public domain). Nothing traced from those plates. Licence: own work

How it works

An endocrine system diagram for when a worksheet says: correctly label the following glands of the endocrine system. Each gland sits in place on a body outline. Start with the 4 main glands.

Read the full guide

Head and neck

In the brain, the hypothalamus controls the pituitary gland, which hangs below it on a stalk; the pineal gland sits deeper. In the neck the butterfly-shaped thyroid has the tiny parathyroid glands, usually four, on its back.

Chest and abdomen

The thymus lies in the upper chest and is largest in childhood. An adrenal gland sits on top of each kidney, and the pancreas lies across the upper abdomen, mostly behind the stomach.

The pituitary is bean-sized and hangs from the hypothalamus; worksheets often point to both with one line.

Questions and answers

What are the glands of the endocrine system?

The main glands are the hypothalamus, pituitary, pineal, thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands, the thymus, the pancreas, and the ovaries or testes.

Where are the adrenal glands?

On top of the kidneys, one on each. They release epinephrine (adrenaline) in the fight-or-flight response, and cortisol.

What does the pancreas do in the endocrine system?

Clusters of cells in it, the pancreatic islets, release insulin and glucagon, the two hormones that keep blood sugar in range. The rest of the pancreas makes digestive enzymes.