Which of the following glands in human beings secretes more than two hormones?

Endocrine glands are ductless glands that release their hormones directly into the bloodstream. Glands differ sharply in how many distinct hormones they produce: some secrete only one or two, while a few act as central regulators and secrete many different hormones.

Among the four glands listed here, the pituitary gland is the one that clearly secretes more than two hormones.

• Growth Hormone (GH) — regulates overall body growth

• Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) — regulates the thyroid gland

• Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) — regulates the adrenal cortex

• Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH) — regulate the reproductive organs

• Prolactin — stimulates milk production

• Oxytocin and Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH) — released from the posterior lobe, controlling childbirth/milk-ejection and water balance respectively

That is at least six to eight distinct hormones from a single gland — far beyond the "more than two" threshold in the question — which is why the pituitary is called the body's "master gland."

The other three glands do not match this description in the standard classification used for this question:

• Adrenal gland — chiefly recognised for adrenaline; it is not the gland credited with the widest hormonal range among these four options.

• Pancreas — known specifically for insulin and glucagon, a pair of hormones that regulate blood sugar — exactly two, not more than two, in the standard classification used here.

• Thyroid — primarily associated with thyroxine, the hormone that governs metabolic rate.

Note: a comprehensive physiological account credits the adrenal gland with additional secretions (cortisol, aldosterone, and adrenal androgens, besides adrenaline), the thyroid with an additional hormone (calcitonin, besides thyroxine), and the pancreas with additional signalling hormones (such as somatostatin), so a very strict literal reading of "more than two" could technically apply to more than one gland here. However, at the standard classification level this question is set at — and as confirmed by the CTET January 2021 official Paper 2 answer key — the pituitary is singled out because its regulatory role spans virtually every major hormonal axis in the body (growth, thyroid, adrenal, reproductive, and water balance), a breadth no other gland in this list matches; that is why Pituitary is the intended and correct answer.