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ENDOCRINOLOGY
Posted by euri
on
7:51 AM
Stress... It’s a word we all hate. But with all the things around us, not to mention piled up works in school, work and even at
home including the demands of this fast changing world, we sometimes can’t help
being stressed. How can our body adapt with such stressful stimuli? Well,
that’s one of the functions of ENDOCRINE SYSTEM. Throughout life, endocrine
system secretes hormones that enhance the ability of the body to respond to
certain changes and for survival. Hormones such as cortisol from adrenal
cortex and epinephrine from adrenal medulla are being
released for adaptation to stress.
OVERVIEW OF THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
This
figure shows the different glands that comprise the endocrine system and their
functions.
The body relays information
between cells through endocrine and nervous system. Endocrinology is a science that deals with the study of different endocrine glands - their mechanisms and functions. The term endocrine means
internal secretions of biologically active substance. Hormones are substances
or chemicals released by endocrine glands and transported through the blood
stream to another tissue where it acts to regulate functions of the target
tissue.
Endocrine system is complex
with various mechanisms that control hormone synthesis, release and activation,
transport in the circulation, and delivery to the cells upon which they act.
Physiologic functions
a. Morphogenesis
Hormones play an important role in growth and
development of an organism.
The development of male and female characteristics
or the sex
characteristics under the influence of testosterone and estradiol is
the best example.
b. Regulatory functions
The
system also functions to maintain the chemical constancy (homeostasis) both in intracellular and extracellular fluid. Homeostasis is
maintained through the action of hormones
that tightly regulate the mechanism
of salt, carbohydrate, fat and protein.
c. For regulation of the
production and utilization of energy
d. Integrative action
This
is a complex function since we know that each type of hormone performs specific
function. However hormones produced by the different endocrine glands react with each other to perform one
specific regulation.
With the complexity of this system,
the diseases associated must also be tackled and discussed. Moreover, this is
just an overview of the highly complicated and detailed study about
endocrinology. So watch out and continuously read the upcoming posts! J GOD BLESS!
References:
Francis S. Greenspan, et.al., Basic
& Clinical Endocrinology; 5th edition
Carl A. Burtis, et.al., Fundamentals
of Clinical Chemistry; 4th Edition
Images:
