The Endocrine System: General Concepts

1. The endocrine system General concepts Beltran Mercado Jamie Lee Ortega Hernandez Manuel Alvarado Osorio Victor Universidad de sucre Ciencias de la salud Medicina 2007

2. Function The Endocrine system is an information signal system much like the nervous system. However, the nervous system uses nerves to conduct information, whereas the endocrine system mainly uses blood vessels as information channels. Glands located in many regions of the body release into the bloodstream specific chemical messengers called hormones, which regulate the many and varied functions of an organism, e.g. mood, growth and development, tissue function, and metabolism, as well as sending messages and acting on them.

3. Whatis The endocrine system? The endocrine system is an integrated system of small organs which involve the release of extracellular signaling molecules known as hormones. The endocrine system is instrumental in regulating metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, and plays a part also in mood. The field of medicine that deals with disorders of endocrine glands is endocrinology, a branch of the wider field of internal medicine.

4. Endocrine system glands. • Pineal gland • Pituitary gland • Thyroid gland • Thymus • Adrenal gland or suprernal gland • Pancreas • Ovary • Testes or testicles

5. Pineal gland Also called the pineal body, epiphysis cerebri, or epiphysis) is a small endocrine gland in the brain. It produces melatonin, a hormone that may weakly modulate wake/sleep patterns. It is shaped like a tiny pine cone, and is located near the center of the brain, between the two hemispheres, tucked in a groove where the two rounded thalamic bodies join.

6. The pituitary gland The pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea that sits in a small, bony cavity (sella turcica) covered by a dural fold (diaphragma sellae) at the base of the brain. The pituitary fossa, in which the pituitary gland sits, is situated in the sphenoid bone in the middle cranial fossa at the base of the brain.

7. The thyroid is one of the largest endocrine glands in the body. This gland is found in the neck inferior to (below) the mouth and at approximately the same level as the cricoid cartilage. The thyroid controls how quickly the body burns energy, makes proteins, and how sensitive the body should be to other hormones. The thyroid

8. In human anatomy, the thymus is an organ located in the upper anterior portion of the chest cavity just behind the sternum. Hormones produced by this organ stimulate the production of certain infection-fighting cells. It is of central importance in the maturation of T cells. the thymus

9. In mammals, the adrenal glands (also known as suprarenal glands) are the triangle-shaped endocrine glands that sit on top of the kidneys; their name indicates that position. They are chiefly responsible for regulating the stress response through the synthesis of corticosteroids and catecholamines, including cortisol and adrenaline suprarenal glands

10. The pancreas The pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine systems of vertebrates. It is both exocrine (secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes) and endocrine (producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin).

11. The ovaries An ovary is an egg-producing reproductive organ found in female organisms. It is often found in pairs as part of the vertebrate female reproductive system. Ovaries in females are homologous to testes in males. The term gonads refers to the ovaries in females and testes in males.

12. The testicle is the male generative gland in animals. The testicle producing male sex hormones, of which testosterone is the best-known The testes