Endocrine System

The endocrine system is a system of glands that involve the release of extracellular signaling molecules known as hormones. The endocrine system is instrumental in regulating metabolism, growth, development and puberty, and tissue function and also plays a part in determining mood.The field of study that deals with disorders of endocrine glands is endocrinology, a branch of the wider field of internal medicine.

he endocrine system is an information signal system much like the nervous system. However, the nervous system uses nerves to conduct information, whereas the endocrine system mainly uses blood vessels as information channels. Glands located in many regions of the body, for example the testis, release into the bloodstream specific chemical messengers called hormones. Hormones regulate many functions of an organism, including mood, growth and development, tissue function, and metabolism.

The typical mode of cell signaling in the endocrine system is endocrine signaling. However, there are also other modes, i.e., paracrine, autocrine, and neuroendocrine signaling.Purely neurocrine signaling between neurons, on the other hand, belongs completely to the nervous system.

A number of glands that signal each other in sequence is usually referred to as an axis, for example, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Typical endocrine glands are the pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal glands. Features of endocrine glands are, in general, their ductless nature, their vascularity, and usually the presence of intracellular vacuoles or granules storing their hormones. In contrast, exocrine glands, such as salivary glands, sweat glands, and glands within the gastrointestinal tract, tend to be much less vascular and have ducts or a hollow lumen. Also controls metabolism in our body system.

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