The Endocrine System
The endocrine system comprises a series of glands, including the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroids, thymus, supra-renal or adrenal glands, part of the pancreas and parts of the ovaries and testis. These various glands often have a concerted action, as the health of the body is dependent upon the correctly balanced output from the various glands that form the endocrine system. The different glands produce and secrete hormones, which are chemical substances that affect the function of specifically receptive tissues or organs. In essence, hormones are important messengers capable of affecting and regulating the physiological functions of organs and tissues, in order to maintain homeostasis.
The endocrine system’s effects are slow to initiate, and prolonged in their response, lasting from hours to weeks. The endocrine or ductless glands secrete their hormones directly into the blood stream, and through the circulation they reach and act at a site distant from their site of origin (endocrine fashion). The actions of hormones are mediated through binding to specific cellular receptors, in the plasma or nuclear membrane of the cell, or in the cytoplasm. The receptors have two main properties: i) the recognition of the hormone, the ability to distinguish from other molecules, ii) and signal transduction, the ability to transmit a message intracellularly. Hormones may also act on the same cell in autocrine fashion, or on nearby cells in paracrine fashion. For example the hormone insulin is secreted by beta islet cells of the pancreas, and acts on skeletal muscle to enhance glucose uptake (endocrine), on beta islet cells to inhibit release of insulin (autocrine) and on nearby alpha islet cells to suppress secretion of glucagon (paracrine). Major functions of hormones include: maintenance of the optimal internal environment, for example regulation of blood volume, electrolytes, body temperature, and calcium homeostasis. Furthermore, hormones play an important role for growth and development, and reproduction. Also, hormones are important for the regulation of the metabolism including the intake, production, utilization and storage of energy.
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