Hormones and The Endocrine System

Hiya!

My first post today I find very interesting; Hormones and the Endocrine system! Get that adrenaline pumping because this is a thrilling topic! Happy reading!

This post includes: What hormones do, controlling blood sugar levels, diabetes, negative feedback and thyroxine.

          The endocrine system consists of glands and hormones. 

          Hormones are chemicals secreted by glands. They travel in the blood to a target organ to carry out a specific role.

          At the target organ, they bind to specific, complimentary receptors on the cell membranes. This then triggers a response in the cell and subsequently the organ.

          

      Hormones can react at varying rates for example growth hormones are much slower whereas adrenaline hormones are much faster and shorter-lived.

         

      The pituitary gland has many roles like controlling growth in children, stimulating the Thyroid gland to make Thyroxine to control metabolism. It stimulates the ovaries/testes to produce oestrogen and testosterone. It also secretes ADH to control urine production.

         Hormones are used to control blood glucose levels; when blood glucose levels are too high or low, the pancreas will detect this and secrete the necessary hormones.

-If the blood glucose levels are too high, the insulin hormone will convert excess glucose in insoluble glycogen.

-If the blood sugar levels are too low, the pancreas will secrete glucagon which will convert the insoluble glycogen back into glucose.

         If there is too much glucose in the blood, it can affect water concentration so processes like osmosis can be affected.

         Diabetes type one is caused by the pancreas being unable to produce insulin, so the body can’t convert the glucose in the bloodstream into glycogen. Symptoms include;

- Thirst

- Passing urine more often

- Tiredness

- Weight loss

Diabetes type one doesn’t have a cure, but it can be managed by medication or by injecting insulin into the blood. It is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks the pancreas by mistake which means the receptors to glucose are damaged and insulin isn’t produced. 

         Type two diabetes is caused when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or the body’s cells don’t react to insulin. Symptoms are like type one diabetes however there are several risk factors

-          Age (as you get older your cells replace less often and subsequently become less effective)

-          Genetics

-          Weight (often obesity as there is not enough insulin for cells)

-          Ethnicity

This happens because the body can’t make enough glycogen from glucose as there isn’t enough insulin produced. However, it can be managed by losing weight, having a balanced diet and doing exercise.

          Negative feedback is the body’s attempt at returning to its original conditions e.g homeostasis as the body tries to remain at constant 37 degrees Celsius. 

         Thyroxine is a hormone produced by the thyroid glands in the neck. It is made from the iodine in your diet and controls the basal metabolic rate of the body (how quickly substances are broken down and built up again). Thyroxine plays an important role in growth and development in the body. In adults, thyroxine levels remain relatively constant because of negative feedback from the pituitary gland (producing TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone)).

         To ensure Thyroxine levels remain constant, sensors in the brain detect the Thyroxine levels in the blood and react accordingly. If the levels are too high, the pituitary glands will secrete less TSH and the Thyroxine levels will decrease. If the thyroxine levels are too low, the pituitary gland will secrete more TSH and therefore the levels of Thyroxine will increase.