Hormones

Hormones are substances that are secreted (or released) by cells that act to regulate
the activity of other cells in the body. As a result, many activities in the human body are
regulated by hormones. For example, reacting to fear, developing male or female
characteristics, and growing taller are all regulated by hormones. Hormones are
important to keep your body functioning.

There are four major functions identified with hormones. Hormones regulate growth,
development, behavior, and reproduction. Hormones coordinate the production, use and
storage of energy. Hormones are involved in maintaining nutrition, metabolism,
excretion, and water and salt balance. And finally, hormones react to stimuli from outside
the body.

Hormones act as chemical messengers that carry instructions to other cells to change
their activity. The heart beats faster as hormones carry instructions to the cells of the
heart telling it to increase the heartbeat. It was once believed that hormones had to
travel through the bloodstream, but scientists know today that that is not true. Some
hormones act directly on adjacent cells without traveling through the blood.

The message that a hormone carries is determined by both the hormone itself and the
cell it is carrying the message to. A hormone can instruct a cell to produce an enzyme or
a specific protein. Simply put, hormones can instruct a muscle cell to relax and a nerve
cell to fire.

Each hormone is specific to the cell it is traveling to. Each hormone acts like a key that
opens a lock on or inside the cell. A hormone can only act on cells with the right lock.

Endocrine glands are important organs in the human body that hormones are
secreted from. All of the endocrine glands together make up the endocrine system. The
endocrine system coordinates the body's entire source of hormones.

There are several other organs that contain cells that secrete hormones. These organs
include the brain, stomach, small intestine, kidney, liver, and heart.

The endocrine system and the nervous system interact to coordinate the overall
activity of the body., and hormones play an important role.

The chemical messengers for the nervous system are known

as neurotransmitters while the chemical messengers for the endocrine system are
known as hormones. There are some nerve cells that are able to secrete hormones. For
example, epinephrine is both a neurotransmitter and a hormone.

Hormones are normally a slower-acting and longer-lived messenger whereas the

neurotransmitters are usually fast-acting and short-lived. The effect of a hormone can
last for days, weeks, or even years.
 After a hormone is released from the cell in which it is made, they bind and act on
target cells. A target cell is a specific cell a hormone binds to and carries the message. If
the hormone was not specific, all the cells in the body would react to a hormone resulting
in uncoordinated activities.

Finally, there are two main hormone classifications. They are either amino-acid-
based hormones or they are steroid-based hormones. Amino-acid-based hormones
are water soluble and made up of amino acids. Steroid-based hormones are lipid
hormones made from cholesterol and are fat soluble.

Since the human body makes more than 40 hormones, it is important that the release
of them is regulated regardless of which hormone is being produced.

1) How many hormones does the human body produce?

A: 2
B: 10
C: 25
D: 40
2) Which of the following is NOT regulated by hormones?
A: Growth
B: Development
C: Behavior
D: Hearing
3) Hormones coordinate the production, use, and storage of which of the following?
A: Energy
B: Emotions
C: Force
D: Balance
4) What do hormones carry to other cells that change their activity?
A: Protectors
B: Neurons
C: Instructions
D: Proteins
5) Amino-acid-based hormones are which of the following?
A: Fat soluble
B: Water soluble
C: Tissue soluble
D: Bone soluble
6) Which of the following times the time of the effects of hormone?
A: Seconds, minutes or even an hour
B: Minutes, hours, or even a day
C: Hours, days or even a week
D: Days, weeks or even a year