Endocrine System Flashcards
Equilibrium
A state of physical balance.
Chemical messenger
Is any compound that serves to transmit a message. This is something like a hormone.
Hypothalamus
It controls certain metabolic processes and other activities of the Autonomic Nervous System
Secretion
a process by which substances are produced and discharged from a cell, gland, or organ for a particular function in the organism or for excretion.
Diabetes
A group of diseases that result in too much sugar in the blood (high blood glucose).
Pancreas
The pancreas is an organ in the endocrine system that helps digest food. It also controls blood sugar levels.
Insulin
Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate high blood sugar levels and is released by the pancreas.
Glucagon
Glucagon is a hormone that helps control low blood sugar levels.
Hormone
a regulatory substance produced in an organism and transported in tissue fluids such as blood or sap to stimulate specific cells or tissues into action.
Gland
an organ in the human or animal body which secretes particular chemical substances for use in the body or for discharge into the surroundings.
Endocrine system
The endocrine system is the collection of glands of an organism that secrete hormones directly into the circulatory system to be carried towards distant target organs.
Target cell
a cell which bears receptors for a hormone, drug, or other signalling molecule, or is the focus of contact by a virus, phagocyte, nerve fibre, etc.
Bloodstream
The blood circulating through the body of a person or animal.
Feedback loop
Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to feed back into itself.
Homeostasis
The tendency towards a relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements, especially as maintained by physiological processes.
