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7: The Endocrine System

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    191390

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    This chapter describes the endocrine system and its vital roles in communication, control, and homeostasis within the human body. The focus is on the pituitary gland, as the master gland of the endocrine system, and three other endocrine glands: the thyroid gland, adrenal glands, and pancreas. The chapter also explains the differing mechanisms of steroid and non-steroid endocrine hormones.

    • 7.1: Overview - Hormones and Health
      Case Study Introduction: 18 year-old Gabrielle checks her calendar. It has been 42 days since her last menstrual period, two weeks later than the length of the average woman's menstrual cycle. Although many women would suspect pregnancy if their period was late, Gabrielle has not been sexually active.
    • 7.2: Introduction to the Endocrine System
      The endocrine system is a network of glands that release chemical messenger molecules called hormones into the bloodstream. Endocrine hormones may affect many cells and have body-wide effects that last for days, weeks, or even months.
    • 7.3: Regulation of Endocrine Hormones
      Endocrine hormones regulate many body processes, but what regulates the secretion of endocrine hormones? Most endocrine hormones are controlled by feedback mechanisms. A feedback mechanism is a loop in which a product feeds back to control its own production.
    • 7.4: The Pituitary Gland
      The pituitary gland is considered the master gland of the endocrine system because it controls the rest of the endocrine system. Many pituitary hormones either promote or inhibit the secretion of hormones from other endocrine glands.
    • 7.5: The Thyroid Gland
      The thyroid gland is one of the largest endocrine glands in the body. There are two main thyroid hormones: thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3).
    • 7.6: The Adrenal Glands
      The adrenal glands are endocrine glands that produce a variety of hormones. Adrenal hormones include the fight-or-flight hormone adrenaline and the steroid hormone cortisol.
    • 7.7: The Pancreas
      The pancreas, a large gland in the upper left abdomen, is part of both the endocrine and digestive systems.

    Thumbnail: Thyroid and parathyroid glands. (Public Domain; NIH).

    This page titled 7: The Endocrine System is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Tara Jo Holmberg via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.