Download The Endocrine System

The Endocrine System
WHAT IS THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM?
What is it?
• The endocrine system (ES) regulates long term
changes in the body such as growth and
development.
• It also controls many of your body’s daily
activities and influences almost every cell,
organ, and function of our bodies.
• It regulates mood, growth and development,
tissue function, metabolism, and sexual
function, and reproductive processes.
Endocrine Glands
• Gland - a group of cells that produces and
secretes, or gives off, chemicals.
• Your ES is made up of a group of organs, called
endocrine glands.
• An endocrine gland produces and releases
chemical substances that signal changes in
other parts of the body.
Hormones
• A chemical substance produced by an
endocrine gland
• Chemical messengers
• Each hormone has a specific function and
specific “targets” in the body
• Many different hormones move through the
bloodstream, but each type of hormone is
designed to affect only certain cells.
FUNCTIONS OF ENDOCRINE
GLANDS
Functions
• Each of your endocrine glands plays a specific,
important role in your body
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Hypothalamus
Pituitary gland
Thyroid gland
Parathyroid gland
Thymus glands
Adrenal glands
Pancreas
Reproductive glands (M&F)
Hypothalamus
• Located in the lower center part of the brain
• Links the nervous and endocrine systems
• Controls many of the pituitary gland functions
Pituitary Gland
• “Master gland”
• Located at the base of the brain, below the
hypothalamus
• It makes hormones that control several other
endocrine glands
Thyroid
• Located in the front part of the lower neck
• Produces the thyroid hormones thyroxin,
which controls the rate at which we burn food
• Controls calcium levels in the blood stream
Parathyroid Glands
• Attached to the thyroid
• Four glands
• They release parathyroid hormone, which
regulates the level of calcium in the blood
with the help of calcitonin, which is produced
in the thyroid
Adrenal Glands
• Two glands, located on the top of each kidney,
triangular in shape
• Produces epinephrine, also called adrenaline,
which increases blood pressure and heart rate
when the body experiences stress
Pancreas
• Part of the digestive system
• Produces insulin and glucagon – work
together to maintain blood sugar levels
Reproductive Glands
• Gonads – main source of sex hormones
• Puberty – the period of sexual development
during which a person becomes sexually
mature and is physically able to reproduce
Male gonads – testes
Testosterone –
male sex hormone
Female gonads – ovaries
Estrogen – female sex
hormone
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBWIkKfb
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