The Nervous System & the Endocrine System Flashcards
What is the nervous system?
Consists of the central nervous system & the peripheral nervous system
Communicates using electrical signals
What is the nervous systems two main functions?
- To collect, process & respond to information in the environement
- To co-ordinate the working of different organs & cells in the body
What two subsystems is the nervous system divided into?
Central nervous system (CNS)
Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
What is the CNS made up of?
The brain & spinal cord
Brain
What is the function of the brain in the nervous system?
- The centre of all conscious awareness
- Brain is divided into 2 hemispheres
What is the function of the spinal cord in the nervous system?
- Spinal cord is an extension of the brain
- Passes messages to & from the brain & connects nerves to the PNS
- Also responsible for reflex actions
What is the peripheral nervous system?
Sends information to the CNS from the outside world & transmits messages from the CNS to muscles & glands in the body
What is the peripheral nervous system subdivided into?
- Autonomic nervous system
- Somatic nervous system
What do the autonomic and somatic nervous system do?
Autonomic- Governs vital functions in the body such as breathing, heart rate, digestion etc (does these automatically)
Somatic- Governs muscle movement and recieves information from sensory receptors
What is the endocrine system?
One of body’s major information systems that instructs glands to release hormones directly into the bloodstream.
The hormones are carried towards target organs in the body.
Endocrine systems acts more slowly than CNSn but has widespread effects
What glands make up the endocrine system?
- Hypothalamus
- Pineal gland
- Pituitary gland
- Thyroid gland
- Thymus
- Pancreas
- Adrenal glands
- Testes
- Ovaries
What is the endocrine systems main function?
to maintain homeostasis-keeping the internal system constant
How does the endocrine system work?
- Hypothalamus sends releasing hormone to the pituitary gland
- Pituitary gland secretes a ‘stimulating hormone
- Target gland releases its hormone
- Levels of the target gland’s hormone in the bloodstream increase
- Hypothalamus stops secreting releasing hormone
- Pituitary gland stops secreting a ‘stimulating hormone’
- Target gland releases its hormone
How do the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system work together?
- Work in parallel with one another e.g during stressful event
- When stressor is percieved-hypothalamus activates pituitary gland & triggers activity in sympathetic branch of autonomic nervous system
- ANS changes from parasympathetic state (resting state) to the physiologically aroused sympathetic state
Define ‘adrenaline’
Hormone produced by adrenal gland
Adrenaline triggers physiological changes in the body (e.g. increased HR)
Which creates the physiological arousal necessary for the fight or flight response
