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Introduction to endocrine System:
Endocrine system is the system of glands of human body. Each of these glands secretes one or more different hormones in the blood for different functions. The secretions of endocrine glands are known as hormones. Each endocrine gland may secrete one or more hormones in the blood and these hormones may or may not have related functions. Generally the hormones regulate different functions of human body like growth, mood, development, and metabolism etc. The perform their function by attaching to the target cells and then communicating with them.
Endocrine Glands:
Endocrine glands are ductless glands of human body that pour their secretions (hormones) directly into the blood. They have three characteristic features that are:
They are ductless
They are highly vascularized
They possess intracellular vacuoles or granules that store the hormones
In contrast to the endocrine glands are the “exocrine glands”.
Endocrine glands of Human Body:
Endocrine glands of human body are divided into two categories; 1) Typical endocrine glands, 2) Organs having secondary endocrine function
1) TYPICAL ENDOCRINE GLANDS: These glands have primary function of producing hormones for human body. Typical endocrine glands include;
PITUITARY GLAND
THYROID GLAND
PARATHYROID GLANDS
ADRENAL GLANDS
2) ORGANS HAVING SECONDARY ENDOCRINE FUNCTION:
These organs primarily belong to some other system of the body but have a secondary function of producing hormones. They include;
PANCREAS(Hormones of Pancreas)
OVARIES (In females) (Hormones of Ovaries)
TESTES (In males) (Hormones of Testes)
KIDNEYS (Hormones of Kidneys)
LIVER (Hormones of Liver)
Functions of the endocrine system:
As stated above, endocrine system is a regulatory system of human body. In fact it associates the nervous system in controlling body functions. The control of body function by the nervous system is called nervous coordination and the control of body functions by the endocrine system is called chemical coordination. For a detailed explanation of the difference between nervous coordination and chemical coordination visit “”. The control of body functions by the endocrine system is a long term control system. All the necessary changes and adaptations of the body, required for the long term control of a specific function, are influenced by the hormonal system.
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