The article “Endocrine System - Everything You Need to Know” by Galan, describes the endocrine system that comprises of various glands and how these glands function in regard to enabling the body to carry out various essential functions mainly related to metabolism as well as growth. According to the article, these glands usually secrete various hormones (chemical messengers) that control as well as coordinate various body activities particularly by activating the body to carry out various essential functions that are related to metabolism as well as growth. Essentially, the endocrine system comprises two main types of glands that include; the exocrine and the endocrine glands.
The main types of endocrine glands include; the adrenal, pancreas, pituitary and the thyroid glands. These glands usually secrete their respective hormones into the blood system directly whereby these hormones are subsequently carried to the target site to carry out a specific action. On the other hand, the main exocrine glands are the mammary, digestive, sebaceous and the salivary glands that usually secrete their respective hormones into the ducts directly. In regard to the working mechanism of hormones, most of the endocrine glans are usually sensitive to the amount or concentration of their respective hormones secreted or the various substances involved in their activation. According to the article, when the concentration of these substances or hormones becomes lower than then the normal level, the glands are activated to produce more hormone and when the concentration becomes high, the glands halt the secretion of these hormones. In addition, the endocrine glands may be activated by the nervous system directly. Typically, after the cell membrane receptors of the endocrine gland is stimulated by a specific hormone causes a series of chemical actions to be triggered in the cell.
According to the article, different endocrine glands produce different hormones that control as well as coordinate various body activities. In this regard, the pituitary gland is usually referred to as the “master gland” since it involved in a wide range of functions that relate to homeostasis maintenance and metabolism. Basically, the pituitary gland comprises of two lobes (i.e. the posterior and anterior) that produce various hormones. In the light of this, the hormones produced by the anterior lobe include; adrenocorticotropin, prolactin and lutenizing hormone while those secreted by the posterior lobe include; oxytocin and anti-diuretic hormone. In addition, the hypothalamus is essentially a section of the brain that is involved in controlling the pituitary hormones mainly by releasing various hormones that stop or stimulate the release of pituitary hormone. The thymus gland is basically utilized in childhood whereby the thymus gland produces hormones that promote development of the immune system.
Moreover, the pineal gland is situated in the brain and produces melatonin that is involved in the regulation of sleep and wake cycle while the thyroid gland is situated in the windpipe and secretes tri-iodothyronine (T3) as well as thyroxin (T4) that are involved in the regulation of metabolism. Furthermore, the parathyroid glands usually secrete parathyroid hormone that is involved in the control of phosphorous and calcium levels while the adrenal glands usually secrete various hormones that include; mineralocorticoids, glucocorticoids and epinephrine hormones. Other main type of glands include the pancreas, testes and ovaries. Essentially, the ovaries are found among women only and usually produce progesterone, inhibin and estrogen where these two hormones are the key sex hormones that are responsible for various secondary sex characteristics among women while inhibin hormone is involved in the regulation of egg development. The pancreas usually produces glucagon and insulin that are the essential hormones involved in the maintenance as well as regulation of the blood sugar level while testes are found among women only and produce testosterone that is the key hormone responsible for secondary sex characteristics among males.
However, an imbalance of the aforementioned hormones usually affects various other hormones, glands and systems. For instance, the presence of polycystic ovary syndrome among women causes alterations in lutenizing hormones, insulin and androgens whereby this subsequently affects the level of estrogen. Overall, alterations of hormones can result to various changes especially in metabolism, energy and weight levels.
Works Cited
Galan, Nicole. "Endocrine System - Everything You Need to Know." Verywell. N.p., 19 June 2014. Web. 15 May 2016.
