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.
Noladin
Noradrenalin
Norepinephrine
Nortestosterone
Nucleobindin
Nymphetamine
Octopamine
Oleoylethanolamide
Oncostatin
Opiorphin
Orexin
Orphanin
Osteonectin
Oxoprogesterone
Oxytocin
Palmitoylethanolamide
Pancreatic Polypeptide
Parathormone
Parathyrin
Persephin
Phenethylamine
Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Peptide
Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide
Platelet-Derived Growth Factor
Prebediolone
Pregnane
Pregnanediol
Pregnanedione
Pregnanolone
Pregnenolone
Progesterone
Progranulin
Prolactin
Prolactin-Releasing Peptide
Prostacyclin
Prostaglandin
Prostamide
Protectin
Relaxin
Renin
Resistin
Resolvin
Retinol Binding Protein
RFamide
Sauvagine
Secretin
Secretogranin
Sepranolone
Serine
Serotonin
Serpin
Somatocrinin
Somatomedin
Somatostatin
Somatotropin
Spinorphin
Stanolone
Synephrine
Tachykinin
Testosterone
Tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone
Tetrahydroprogesterone
Thromboxane
Thyrotropin
Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone
Thyroxine
Timnodonic Acid
Transforming Growth Factor
Transthyretin
Trihydroxyestrin
Trihydroxypregnenolone
Tryptamine
Tumor Necrosis Factor
Tyramine
Ubiquitin
Urocortin
Urodilatin
Urotensin
Valorphin
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor
Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide
Vasopressin
Vaspin
Virodhamine
Visfatin
Vomeropherines
These illustrations were drawn using Stable Diffusion 2.1.
