Endocrine system

Endocrine system

The function and operation of the organs of the endocrine system - hypothalamus, thyroid gland, pancreas, pituitary gland, adrenal glands, gonads.

The normal functioning of the organs of our body is based on the fact that they must consume certain substances in order to produce others that the body needs. To solve this problem, there is a system of internal control and regulation - the hormonal, or endocrine system.

Hormones act as chemical agents that are released into the blood by certain glands. The glands that produce hormones are called endocrine glands, endocrine glands: they do not have excretory tracts, and they secrete their secretion into the intercellular space, where it is picked up by the blood and transferred to other parts of the body.

The most important of them are the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, pancreas, adrenal glands and gonads, although there are others, such as the pineal gland and thymus, the action of which has not yet been fully studied.

There are also other types of glands (sweat, salivary, lacrimal, etc.), which are exocrine, that is, external secretion, since they do not secrete their products into the bloodstream.

Endocrine glands:

The hypothalamus is an organ of the brain that, like a control room, gives orders for the production and distribution of hormones in the right quantity and at the right time.

Thyroid gland, parathyroid glands - The thyroid gland, located in the front of the neck, secretes three hormones. Adjacent to it are four small parathyroid glands involved in calcium metabolism.

Pancreas - this organ is both exocrine and endocrine. As an endocrine hormone, it produces two hormones - insulin and glucagon, which regulate carbohydrate metabolism.

The pituitary gland is a gland located at the base of the skull that secretes a large amount of trophic hormones - those that stimulate the secretion of other endocrine glands.

The adrenal glands are two small glands, located one above each kidney and consisting of two independent parts - the cortex and the medulla.

Gonads - The gonads (ovaries in women and testes in men) produce gametes and other major hormones involved in reproductive function.