Pancreas: The pancreas pronounced: PAN-kree-us makes insulin pronounced: IN-suh-lin and glucagon pronounced: GLOO-kuh-gawn , which are hormones that control the level of glucose , or sugar, in the blood.
Insulin helps keep the body supplied with stores of energy. The body uses this stored energy for exercise and activity, and it also helps organs work as they should. Reviewed by: Larissa Hirsch, MD. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. 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.
Some examples include:. The pancreas is both an endocrine and exocrine organ. It releases certain enzymes to aid in digestion delivered to the gut via the pancreatic duct. The endocrine pancreas also releases hormones such as insulin and glucagon, which are hormones predominantly related to glucose metabolism, into the blood stream.
A hormone can be thought of as a key, and its target site such as an organ has specially shaped locks on the cell walls. If the hormone fits the cell wall, then it will work. The hormones can set off a cascade of other signaling pathways in the cell to cause an immediate effect for instance, insulin signaling leads to a rapid uptake of glucose into muscle cells or a more delayed effect glucocorticoids bind to DNA elements in a cell to switch on the production of certain proteins, which takes a while to produce.
The endocrine system is a tightly regulated system that keeps the hormones and their effects at just the right level. The release of hormones is regulated by other hormones, proteins or neuronal signals. The released hormone then has its effect on other organs. This effect on the organ feeds back to the original signal to control any further hormone release. The pituitary gland is well known for its feedback loops.
Numerous problems can occur in the endocrine system. These can be considered as excessive or deficient hormone production. Endocrine organs are also prone to tumours adenomas which can over produce hormones. Some problems of the endocrine system include:. This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by:.
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The State of Victoria and the Department of Health shall not bear any liability for reliance by any user on the materials contained on this website. Parathyroid hormone increases the blood concentrations of calcium and phosphorous, working to balance the Calcitonin which is secreted by the thyroid to maintain the body's balance of calcium.
The pancreas is a long, narrow, lobed gland located behind the stomach. The Pancreas has two types of cells: exocrine and endocrine cells. The exocrine cells secrete Pancreatic juices which are used in the duodenum as an important part in the digestive system. The endocrine cells are arranged in clusters throughout the Pancreas, these known as Islets of Langerhans. There are three types of endocrine cells; alpha cells which secrete glucagon, beta cells which secrete insulin, and delta cells which inhibit the secretion on glucagon and insulin:.
The adrenal glands resemble small caps perched on top of each kidney. The Adrenal is actually a combination of two glands the adrenal cortex and the adrenal medulla. The adrenal cortex is essential for life, as opposed to the adrenal medulla which is important but not indispensable. The anterior pituitary controls the adrenal cortex by secreting the hormone ACTH. All of the secretions of the adrenal cortex are known as steroids, many of which can now be manufactured synthetically. The adrenal cortex is made up of three layers associated with three classes of hormones:.
The Adrenal Medulla is the inner part of the adrenal gland. The hormones secreted effect the structures in the body that are under the control of the sympathetic nervous system, aiding the body to deal with stressful situations such as fright, attack or pursuit. This is accomplished through the release of hormones, or chemical messengers produced by the endocrine system. Hormones like estrogen and testosterone are crucial to your heath, and a hormonal imbalance can cause symptoms like acne and weight gain.
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