adrenal cortex vs cortex

adrenal cortex and cortex both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
adrenal cortex	Yes	No	No	No
cortex	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, cortex is a hypernym of adrenal cortex; that is, cortex is a word with a broader meaning than adrenal cortex:

adrenal cortex: the cortex of the adrenal gland; secretes corticosterone and sex hormones
cortex: the tissue forming the outer layer of an organ or structure in plant or animal

Other hypernyms of adrenal cortex include ductless gland, endocrine, endocrine gland.

adrenal cortex (noun)	cortex (noun)
the cortex of the adrenal gland; secretes corticosterone and sex hormones	the tissue forming the outer layer of an organ or structure in plant or animal
	the layer of unmyelinated neurons (the grey matter) forming the cortex of the cerebrum
	the tissue that surrounds the lens nucleus