ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
❖ Endocrine System
➢ A system of organs that are called
glands.
➢ These glands secrete little chemical
messages that are called hormones.
➢ It releases those hormones into the
bloodstream so that the hormones
can circulate from one part of the
body to another part of the body in
order to initiate an effect.
❖ Endocrine glands
➢ An organ that uses hormones to
communicate.
❏ Major Endocrine Glands:
❏ Hypothalamus
➢ Is located in the brain and is a
member of the forebrain
➢ It plays a dual role between the
nervous system and endocrine
system.
➢ It receives a lot of signals from
the nervous system and
channels those signals into the
pituitary gland.
➢ Often taglines as the control
center of the endocrine
system.
➢ It makes some hormones itself
like ADH and oxytocin
○ ADH is an antidiuretic
hormone. It is a main
regulator of our fluid
volume of the body.
○ Oxytocin is a hormone that
stimulates the uterus to
contract for females during
pregnancy.
➢ About a size of a grape
❏ Pituitary Gland
➢ About the size of a green pea.
➢ It is called the master gland
because it takes the
stimulation from the
hypothalamus and it directs to
all other endocrine glands such
that their functions are
ultimately dependent on the
pituitary gland to work well.
➢ It directs the thyroid gland
❏ Thyroid Gland
➢ Located in the neck
➢ It wraps around the trachea
➢ You can feel it when you
swallow
➢ It regulates your body’s
metabolism through the thyroid
hormones T3 and T4.
T3/Triiodothyronine
T4/Thyroxine
➢ The thyroid uses hormone T3
and T4 to stimulate the body’s
metabolism.
❏ Parathyroid Gland
➢ Right behind the thyroid gland
➢ It regulates our body’s blood
calcium level through
PTH(Parathyroid hormone). The
level of calcium in our blood is
hugely important because
calcium does a lot in our bodies.
❏ Adrenal Glands
➢ Located in the top of the kidneys.
➢ They’re called adrenal glands
because they’re adjacent to or
right next to the kidney system,
called the renal system.
➢ The Adrenal Glands are subdivided
into two divisions:
○ Cortex(outer part)- this is where
the steroids, the adrenal
corticosteroids, are made like
cortisol and aldosterone.
Cortisol- one of the body’s stress
hormones. It functions to
increase blood pressure in times
of stress. It also has some
inflammatory functioning.
Aldosterone- One of the major
regulating hormones of our
body’s blood volume and how
much fluid is in our veins and
arteries.
○ Medulla(inner part)- It makes a
class of hormones called
catecholamines.
Two major examples of
Catecholamines are:
1. Epinephrine- sometimes
called adrenaline.
2. Norepinephrine
The Catecholamines are involved
in our body’s fight or flight
response.
❏ Gonads
➢ Ovaries in females.
➢ Testes in Males.
➢ Gonads release the sex
hormones
○ In males testes produce
testosterone.
○ In females ovaries
produce estrogen and
progesterone.
This sex hormones are mainly
involved of our secondary sex
characteristics like pubic hair,
larger frames in males, and
breasts in women.
Involved in progressing the
puberty and menopause.
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
❏ Pancreas
➢ Located in the upper part of the
abdomen.
➢ It isn’t involved as directly with
the pituitary gland as the other
endocrine hormones were.
➢ It stimulates the control over the
blood sugar through hormones
insulin and glucagon.
○ Without the insulin and
glucagon, we can’t regulate
how much sugar is in the body’s
blood versus the cells and it can
lead to major diseases like
diabetes.

There are a lot of hormones circulating through

our vasculature at any given
moment.Hormones are a lot like radio waves in
a very similar way, a hormone is not going to
be received unless there’s a very specific
receptor on the target cell. The receptor and its
location are very important in determining the
hormone function.
Classes we use to identify which hormones fall
into which function:
1. Autocrine hormones- function at the cell
that makes them.
Eq.: T-cell in the immune system, it
secretes a hormone that it makes it
called an interleukin. Interleukin signals
the cell to increase its effectiveness and
its immune function.
2. Paracrine hormones- function regionally.
Eq.: Hormones released by the
hypothalamus that direct the pituitary
gland.
3. Endocrine hormones- these are the
hormones that function at a distance.
Eq.: Pituitary gland stimulating the
gonads,way far away.