How can infection or loss of blood supply destroy hormone-secreting cells?

Hormone-secreting cells can be destroyed through various acquired processes that lead to endocrine hypofunction, or the underproduction of hormones.12

Infection and loss of blood supply are two specific mechanisms of this destruction:

• Infection: Bacterial, fungal, and viral infections can infiltrate endocrine glands, causing damage that impairs their ability to secrete hormones.1
• Loss of blood supply: Known as infarction, this process results in tissue death within the gland due to an inadequate supply of oxygen and nutrients, which effectively destroys the hormone-secreting cells.2

While these factors contribute to cell loss, it is important to note that complete destruction of an endocrine gland is relatively unusual. In most cases, a significant portion of the gland—typically at least 90 percent—must be destroyed before clinical signs of hormone deficiency become apparent. Other acquired causes of such destruction include physical trauma, severe hemorrhage, infiltration by cancer or inflammatory cells, and damage from radiation.12