2.3 Key Terms Flashcards
Endocrine System
The glands and parts of glands that produce endocrine secretions, help to integrate and control bodily metabolic activity, and include especially the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenals, islets of Langerhans, ovaries, and testes.
Exocrine gland
A gland (as a sweat gland, a salivary gland, or a kidney) that releases secretion external to or at the surface of an organ by means of a canal or duct
Gland
A cell, group of cells, or organ of endothelial origin that selectively removes materials from the blood, concentrates or alters them, and secretes them for further use in the body or for elimination from the body
Glucagon
A protein hormone that is produced especially by the pancreatic islets of Langerhans and that promotes an increase in the sugar content of the blood by increasing the rate of breakdown of glycogen in the liver
Hormone
Any one of the main circulating chemical signals found in all multicellular organisms that are formed in specialized cells, travel in body fluids, and coordinate the various parts of the organism by interacting with target cells
Hypothalamus
Ventral part of the vertebrate forebrain; functions in maintaining homeostasis, especially in coordinating the endocrine and nervous systems; secretes hormones of the posterior pituitary and releasing factors, which regulate the anterior pituitary
Insulin
A vertebrate hormone that lowers the blood glucose levels by promoting the uptake of glucose by most body cells and synthesis and storage of glycogen in the liver
Pituitary gland
An endocrine gland at the base of the hypothalamus; consists of a posterior lobe, which stores and releases two hormones produced by the hypothalamus, and an anterior lobe, which produces and secretes many hormones that regulate diverse body functions
Endocrine gland (ductless gland/gland of internal secretion)
A gland (as the thyroid or the pituitary) that produces an endocrine secretion
