What Is the Endocrine System? What Does the Endocrine System Do? Endocrine glands release hormones into the bloodstream. This lets the hormones travel to cells in other parts of the body. The endocrine hormones help control mood, growth and development, the way our organs work, metabolism , and reproduction. The endocrine system regulates how much of each hormone is released.
This can depend on levels of hormones already in the blood, or on levels of other substances in the blood, like calcium. Many things affect hormone levels, such as stress, infection, and changes in the balance of fluid and minerals in blood.
What Are the Parts of the Endocrine System? While many parts of the body make hormones, the major glands that make up the endocrine system are the: hypothalamus pituitary thyroid parathyroids adrenals pineal body the ovaries the testes The pancreas is part of the endocrine system and the digestive system.
The pituitary gland makes many hormones, such as: growth hormone, which stimulates the growth of bone and other body tissues and plays a role in the body's handling of nutrients and minerals prolactin pronounced: pro-LAK-tin , which activates milk production in women who are breastfeeding thyrotropin pronounced: thy-ruh-TRO-pin , which stimulates the thyroid gland to make thyroid hormones corticotropin pronounced: kor-tih-ko-TRO-pin , which stimulates the adrenal gland to make certain hormones antidiuretic pronounced: an-ty-dy-uh-REH-tik hormone, which helps control body water balance through its effect on the kidneys oxytocin pronounced: ahk-see-TOE-sin , which triggers the contractions of the uterus that happen during labor The pituitary also secretes endorphins pronounced: en-DOR-fins , chemicals that act on the nervous system and reduce feelings of pain.
The adrenal glands have two parts, each of which makes a set of hormones and has a different function: The outer part is the adrenal cortex. It makes hormones called corticosteroids pronounced: kor-tih-ko-STER-oydz that help control salt and water balance in the body, the body's response to stress, metabolism, the immune system , and sexual development and function. The inner part is the adrenal medulla pronounced: muh-DUH-luh. It makes catecholamines pronounced: kah-tuh-KO-luh-meenz , such as epinephrine pronounced: eh-puh-NEH-frun.
Also called adrenaline, epinephrine increases blood pressure and heart rate when the body is under stress. To help keep your endocrine system healthy: Get plenty of exercise. Endocrine glands are ductless glands and release the substances that they make hormones directly into the bloodstream. These glands form part of the endocrine system and information on them is included in this website. There is another type of gland called an exocrine gland e. These are not considered part of the endocrine system as they do not produce hormones and they release their product through a duct.
Information on these glands is not included on this website. The pituitary gland is located below the brain. Usually no larger than a pea, the gland controls many functions of the other endocrine glands. Thyroid and parathyroid. The thyroid gland and parathyroid glands are located in front of the neck, below the larynx voice box.
The thyroid plays an important role in the body's metabolism. The parathyroid glands play an important role in the regulation of the body's calcium balance. It also acts as an exocrine gland and secretes pancreatic juice into the pancreatic duct. Source: www. The endocrine system also helps in coordinating the activities of our body. The endocrine glands present in our body are the pineal gland, hypothalamus gland, pituitary gland, thyroid gland, parathyroid gland, thymus, pancreas, adrenal gland, testes, and ovaries.
The nervous system controls the working of endocrine glands. The hormones act as a messenger between the nervous system and organs of the body. Hypothalamus and pituitary gland are main centres for the coordination of the nervous system and endocrine system. The hypothalamus helps in collecting information from the regions of the brain and from blood vessels passing through it. The information is then passed on to the pituitary gland which by its secretions regulates the activities of all other endocrine glands.
In the human body, hormones help in growth, metabolic activities and reproduction. This gland is present in the brain and produces releasing hormone and inhibitory hormone. Hypothalamus regulates the secretions of hormones from the pituitary gland. This gland is present just below the brain and secretes a number of hormones.
One of the hormones secreted by the pituitary gland is growth hormone. This growth hormone controls the development of bones and muscles. A person having a deficiency of growth hormone becomes very short and the person having too much growth hormone becomes very tall.
The thyroid gland is attached to the windpipe and makes a hormone called thyroxin which contains iodine. The function of this hormone is to control the rate of metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in the body.
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