Endocrine System Chap 18 Essay example

Explain the characteristics of the endocrine system that make its reactions different from those of the nervous system.

The endocrine system uses chemical messengers called hormones that are transported by the circulatory system (blood). They act on target cells that may be anywhere in the body.

The limbic and olfactory systems (the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the olfactory cortex) help control eating and reproduction through the hypothalamus. The thermoreceptors and the osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus are receptors that help monitor temperature and ionic balance. The hypothalamus can control every endocrine gland in the body. The hypothalamus can alter blood pressure, body temperature, metabolism, and adrenaline levels. There are two outputs that the hypothalamus uses when it becomes aware of a problem. One of the outputs it uses is sending neural signals to the autonomic system. The hypothalamus sends signals to the medulla, where the parasympathetic vagal nuclei and cell groups that descend to the spinal cord are located, which help drive the autonomic system. When the hypothalamus gains admittance to these systems, it is able to control functions such as digestion, heart rate, sweating, and vasoconstriction (when blood vessels narrow, and consequently reduce the flow of blood or create high blood pressure). The other input the hypothalamus uses is sending endocrine signals, chemical signals sent through the blood stream, to the pituitary. Large cells from the hypothalamus send axons to the posterior pituitary, which in turn releases oxytocin and vasopressin into the bloodstream. More axons are also sent by smaller cells to the base of the pituitary. There the axons discharge releasing factors into the pituitary's capillary system. This

A. The adrenal glands are in part controlled by the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system. Name the hormones involved in this regulation and the functions of each.

The endocrine system is a very important part of the anatomy and physiology of the human body. Knowing and understanding how this system operates and what contributes to its failures can be helpful in understanding how the body contributes to overall health and wellness. The purpose of this essay is to highlight and describe the adreanal glands, an important component of the endocrine system. In this analysis, this essay will describe the location and normal physiology of the adrenal glands and discuss the hormones that are associated with this part of the body. Also the feedback mechanisms and communication system within the group of endocrine glands will be discussed. Finally a malfunction of the adrenal glands will also be introduced to highlight how disease and illness can negatively impact the endocrine system and the human body's means of healing.

The Pituitary Gland - The pituitary gland is a pea-sized structure located at the base of the brain, just below the hypothalamus, to which it is attached via nerve fibers. It is part of the endocrine system and produces critical hormones, which are chemical substances that control various bodily

gland to release ACTH. If the CRH gets low it prevents the pituitary from releasing ACTH,

It starts off with the hypothalamus gland, which is located near the center of the brain. It receives chemical and nervous signals regarding 4 of the 5 senses being sight, sound, taste and smell, as well as the body’s temperature, blood glucose levels, and the body’s balance of salt water. Furthermore, it also helps to control hunger and thirst, and takes part in the reproductive system. The hypothalamus also controls the pituitary gland.

The major glands of the endocrine system are the hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenals, pineal body, and the reproductive organs (ovaries and testes). The pancreas is also a part of this system. Hypothalamus gland is located in the brain. The function of the hypothalamus is to regulate production of hormones in the anterior pituitary gland. Hypothalamus produces “releasing and “inhibitory” hormones. Pituitary gland located just below the brain secretes a number of hormones. One of the hormones secreted by this gland is human growth hormone, which controls the growth of the human body. It helps control the development of the bones and muscles in the body, which explains why there are short people “dwarf” and tall people “giant”. When the body does not produce enough GH the person remains short. On the other hand, when the body produces too much GH the person becomes very tall. Thyroid gland is in the anterior neck, directly below the crioid cartilage. Thyroid gland makes a hormone called thyroxin. The function of thyroxine hormone is

Today most of us are aware that there is a close connection between how our brains function and how we behave in daily life. Our brain, which has developed throughout life based on individual and shared experiences, impacts everything from our personalities to our senses to which professional roles best suit us. Our brains also regulate systemic functions like breathing and how we respond to pain. One area of the brain, the pituitary gland, regulates many of the hormones our bodies need to function normally. While they have not always been seen as inseparable, the sciences of neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neurology are increasingly intertwined with areas of the social sciences - particularly cognitive psychology - which deals with how we process information. The combination of these once distinct disciplines, all related to the myriad functions of the human brain, have converged as a multi-disciplinary field known as neuroscience.

2. The adrenal cortex is stimulated via adrenocortotropic hormone, thyroid gland secretes by thyroid stimulating hormone, pituitary secretes these hormones, pancreas, and ovary and testis secretes FSH and LSH. These are major endocrine glands.

The pituitary gland is part of the Endocrine system and secretes hormones for growth, metabolism, reproduction, etc. It works with the hypothalamus in cognitive functions and is widely important for memory, emotional behavior and a multitude of tasks to maintain homeostasis in our bodies.

The nervous system and the endocrine system connect- the endocrine system hormones provide feedback to the brain to affect neural processing enabling the nervous system to work. The endocrine system also enables the hypothalamus which is a portion of the brain that contains a number of small nuclei with a variety of functions to control the pituitary gland and other endocrine glands in order to interact with the nervous system; therefore it is vital the interrelationship between the nervous and endocrine systems in order for the nervous system to carry messages to and from the brain and spinal cord to various parts of the body and for the endocrine system to function well by the made up of glands to produce and secrete hormones, chemical

The Pituitary is crucial as it regulates the function of many endocrine glands, including the thyroid gland, adrenal glands, ovaries, and testes. Additionally, it regulates homeostasis and promotes the release of many essential hormones.

Starting in the head and neck area one will find the hypothalamus, pineal gland, parathyroid glands, pituitary gland, and thyroid gland. Some of the functions of the hypothalamus, which is part of the brain, are to regulate body temperature, thirst, sleep, mood, hunger, and the release of other hormones in the body. The function pineal gland is to control circadian and circannual rhythms, and the release of melatonin. The function of the parathyroid glands is to mainly to control calcium levels in the body. The functions of the pituitary gland secrete various hormones for various functions. The function of the thyroid gland is to increase the metabolic rate to speed digestion. Now that the endocrine glands of the head and neck area have been introduced, now the glands of the upper and lower torso will be introduced and overviewed. The endocrine gland located in the upper torso is the thymus gland, in the lower torso the adrenal glands, pancreas, and testis/ovaries can be found. The function of the thymus gland is to stimulate the production and maturation of T Lymphocytes. The functions of the adrenal glands are the raising of glucose levels, the reabsorption of sodium and the excretion of potassium, and the stimulating of reproductive organs that bring about sex characteristics. The function of pancreas is to regulate blood glucose levels. And finally the function of the testis/ovaries is to stimulate sex characteristics. All of these glands make up the Endocrine System.