The human body is incredibly complex. It consists of about 30 trillion cells organized into around different cell types. It contains miles of nerves and blood vessels and about 20 square feet of skin. There are about 100 trillion connections between the different cells in the human brain. Yet despite all this complexity, we all started life as a single cell. To get from one fertilized egg to an adult organism, cells have to differentiate—that is, they have to change their contents, shapes, behaviors, etc. All of this differentiation is coordinated by the release and reception of signaling molecules, like hormones and neurotransmitters.
The following images are inspired by (but do not accurately depict) some of the hormones and neurotransmitters that are known to play a role in human development and behavior.
Abrineurin
Acetylaspartylglutamic Acid
Acetylcholine
Activin
Acylethanolamine
Adenosine Triphosphate
Adenosine
Adipokine
Adiponectin
Adrenalin
Adrenic Acid
Adrenocorticotropin
Adrenomedullin
Adrenorphin
Adropin
Agouti-Related Peptide
Aldosterone
Allopregnanediol
Allopregnanedione
Allopregnanolone
Alprostadil
Amidorphin
Amylin
Anandamide
Androgen
Androstadienol
Androstadienone
Androstane
Androstanediol
Androstanedione
Androstanolone
Androstenediol
Androstenedione
Androstenetrione
Androstenolone
Androstenone
Androsterone
Angiopoietin
Angiotensin
Annexin
Apelin
Arachidonic Acid
Arachidonoyl Dopamine
Arachidonoylethanolamine
Arachidonoylglycerol
Arginine
Argipressin
Artemin
Aspartate
Atrial Natriuretic Peptide
Betatrophin
Boldenone
Bombesin
Bone Morphogenetic Protein
Bradykinin
Brain Natriuretic Peptide
Cachexin
Calcitonin
Carbon Monoxide
Carboprost
Cerebellin
Cerebrosterol
Chemerin
Cholecystokinin
Cholesterol
Chromogranin
Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor
Cocaine and Amphetamine Regulated Transcript
Copeptin
Cortexolone
Cortexone
Corticoliberin
Corticosteroid
Corticosterone
Corticotropin
Cortisol
Cortisone
Cortistatin
Cortodoxone
Cytochrophin
Cytokine
Decorin
Dehydrocorticosterone
These illustrations were drawn using Stable Diffusion 2.1.
