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The endocrine system is a slower communication system in the body that uses hormones as chemical messengers to regulate various functions, including growth, metabolism, and reproduction. It is coordinated by the pituitary gland, which responds to the hypothalamus, linking the nervous and endocrine systems. Hormones are specific to target cells, and their actions help maintain homeostasis by balancing internal conditions such as temperature and glucose levels.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
14 viewsEndocrine System Booklet
The endocrine system is a slower communication system in the body that uses hormones as chemical messengers to regulate various functions, including growth, metabolism, and reproduction. It is coordinated by the pituitary gland, which responds to the hypothalamus, linking the nervous and endocrine systems. Hormones are specific to target cells, and their actions help maintain homeostasis by balancing internal conditions such as temperature and glucose levels.
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chold01Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
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Communication: The Endocrine System
Your body has a second type of communications system— a system that reacts
more slowly than the nervous system. In this system, chemicals are the
messengers and the bloodstream is the pathway along which they travel. This.
system is the endocrine system and the chemicals are hormones. Hormones are
responsible for the significant changes of puberty but they are also involved in
less obvious ways on a daily basis throughout your life.
Hormones are chemical substances that act as messengers in the body. They
are produced in endocrine glands scattered throughout the body. Together all
these glands form the endocrine system.
The endocrine system is coordinated by the pituitary gland, which responds to
information from the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus - a portion of the brain
and is made of nerve tissues. It constantly checks the internal environment—that
is, the conditions within the tissues, organs and systems of your body. If these
conditions change, the hypothalamus responds.
The most important function of the hypothalamus is to link the nervous system
and the endocrine system. It secretes hormones that act on the pituitary gland.
The pituitary gland responds by
elther secreting other hormones
‘or producing less of the
hormones. Through its action
on the pituitary gland, the
hypothalamus controls
Important aspects of the body
such as body temperature, rate
of metabolism and water
content. The pituitary gland is
often called the ‘master gland’
because it controls the activities
of other endocrine glands such
as the ovaries, the testes and
the thyroid gland.
How hormones work
Hormones are produced in very small amounts and travel through the blood,
reaching all your body cells. However, they do not affect all the cells. Hormones
are specific. This means that they only act on particular cells in the body. These
are the target cells. Different hormones have different chemical structures. This
means that their shape varies. It is the shape of the hormone that makes it
specific. Within calls are receptors. A hormone is only active in cells that have
receptors that fit he shape of the hormone.
Diagram: THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
CHEMICAL CONTROL
The endocrine system works with the nervous system to co-ordinate and control the rest
of the body. The endocrine glands produce hormones (or chemical messengers). These
are cartied by the blood throughout the body where they trigger specific reactions in other
organs.
Exercises
Your task is to complete the summaries of the endocrine system's role in the body and the
hormones produced by its glands (use a textbook to be sure your answers are accurate).
1) Use words from the list to complete the passage below, summarising the endocrine
system's role in co-ordination.
Word list: recognise, tiny, chemical, together, produce, regulate, blood, levels,
effect, endocrine, both, nervous, specific, reproduction, lasting, balance, hours,
hormones:
‘The glands that make up the system hormones:
that act as chemical messengers and release them, ‘amounts, into the
stream. As they are carried throughout the body,
act on certain ‘target cells’ which can them and respond in a
specific way. Each hormone has its own target cells and has no
‘on other cells of the body.
Hormones body functions such as growth, development and sexual
. They also control of sugar and water in the blood
and control the rate of reactions occurring in the body. Hormones
often interact with other hormones to maintain a in the body and some
responses involve the nervous system and the endocrine system
working
Compared to the system the endocrine system exerts its contro!
slowly. Hormones can take minutes, or even days to build up to peak
levels, and their effect is long ;
2) The boxes below contain the names of some endocrine hormones and their functions
in the body:
Adrenaline Regulates levels of sugar in the blood
Regulates rate of chemical reactions in
Insulin and Glucagon calis (metabolism)
Middle Science - Biology 29 THE ENDOCRINE S
CHEMICAL CONTRO
= Growth hormone
ved oe
bese} tl
" Regulates development and functioning of
* Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) oe male we roductve aystem o
* Stimulating hormones
= Regulates growth
= Regulates water balance in the body
Oestrogen = Stimulates other endocrine glands to
release hormones
Testosterone Stress hormone nat prepares the body to
in Regulates development and functioning of
Thyroxin the female reproductive system
Use these boxes to complete the table below, summarising the important glands of the
endocrine system by:
* Cutting out and separating the boxes above
* Matching each with the appropriate gland in Column 4 of the table below
* Gluing into the appropriate spaces in Column 2 or 3.
The endocrine system
(tom omnnO nicest a Emon
Thyroid
Adrenals
30 Middle Science - Biology Controlling the Internal Environment
For a living organism to survive, it needs conditions in its environment to stay
within a safe range. Although cells need conditions to be constant, the body's
external conditions, e.g. temperature and nutrient availability fluctuate throughout
the day. The body works continuously to maintain a balanced internal
environment so cells can keep functioning normally. This process, called
homeostasis, involves the nervous and endocrine systems. These systems
monitor the state of the body, detecting changes and triggering responses that
allow the body to make suitable adjustments. Once conditions have returned to
normal, they adjust their responses.
tate ato ernst 0
parte earl oi
Digestion, growth and repair, respiration and manufacture of
hormones are some of the chemical reactions taking place Gemmendaehswey
inside your body. All these reactions together are known as ion v0 cooing
your metabolism. The heat they produce as a by-product mechaniam One re of
‘maintains your body temperature regardless of the temperature “=. ss hecrontss
of your surroundings. Because you can maintain a constant ieteoniee ba
body temperature, you are said to be endothermic. However, if
the temperature inside your body was to increase by more than a
few degrees above 37°C, your metabolism would stop, and you
would die. If your body temperature fell below 37°C, your
metabolism would slow down. A part of your brain called the
“hypothalamus” acts as a thermostat by responding to and
maintaining a constant body temperature. The control of body
temperature is achieved through both the nervous and endocrine
systems.
Response to Rise in Body Temperature
Voluntary Response Involuntary Response
Response to Reduction in Body Temperature
Voluntary Response Involuntary Response Changing Temperature Practical
Complete an investigation that determines the effect of exercise on the body.
Measure the skin temperature by holding the thermometer Inside a bent
elbow.
Aim:
Hypothesis:
Materials:
Method:
Results: Graph of results:
iscussion/Conclusion:
1. Explain what occurred to body temperature as immediately after exercising.
2. Explain the changes of temperature after 10 minutes after exercising:
3. State the maximum temperature reached and when this occurred.
4, Why do you think that body temperature rises during exercise?
5, State the ways In which body temperature is restored to the original
temperature.
6. Give a suggestion
to how this Investigation could be Improved:
‘Suggest any weaknesses of this experiment;
Conclusion: » Sweating i
Science understanding
XB Verbalfinguistic “2 visual/spatiat
Excretion through the skin
Read the information below about excretion through the skin. Then answer the
questions that follow.
‘Your skin, n particular the sweat glands, is part of the excretory system.
1 Figure 7.8.1 shows a sweat gland. When a sweat gland is working, the cells produce a
fluid similar to plasma, the lquid
part of blood. Itis mostly water
but It also contains satts and.
‘avery small amount of urea.
‘There are high concentrations of
‘sodium ions (Nat) and chioride
Tons (Ct) and a low concentration
of potassium fons (K°). The fluid
sed to produce sweat comes
from the spaces between the
body cells. It moves into the
colled part of the sweat gland
‘and moves up through the
straight duct. As it moves up
through the duct, the fluid is
‘changed. The amount it changes
depends on how much sweat is
produced.
2 When you are cool and at rest,
‘you are stil eweating at a very
low rate. In this situation the
fluid moves up through the duct
slowiy. There is time for water
and most of the sodium and
chlorine to be reabsorbed (taken
back in) before the sweat leaves
the body. Potassium and urea are
not reabsorbed.
3 On hot daye or after exercise, you sweat a lot. Then the fluid moves quickly
‘through the duct. There is no time for reabsorption of chiorine and sodium. The
ator ie released to help coo! your body.
4. As sweat evaporates from the surface of your skin, excess heat is removed from
your body. This helps keep your body at a constant temperature. Only the water
‘evaporates. Sodium, chlorine and potassium remain on the skin, This is whiy your
‘kin tastes salty after you sweat.
5 Losing large amounts of water and salts from your body ean quick’y cause
‘dehydration, Without the salts, your body cannot regulate the water content
Cf the blood, Its important to drink plenty of water when you exercise or are
‘outside in high temperatures. anaes
1. List the waste products that leave the body through the skin. (paragraphs 2 and 4)
2. Explain where the fluid that forms sweat comes from. (paragraph 1)
8 (a) Propose whether your skin would taste saltier on hot days or cool days.
(paragraph 4)
(b) Justify your answer.
4. Explain why sweating is necessary. (paragraph 4)
a
5 Deseribe a situation where excessive sweating could be harmful.
6 Complete the flow diagram below to show the process of sweat production. Start
‘with the fluid between the cells and finish with the sweat dried on your skin. One
branch shows the process when you are cool. The other shows the process when you
£7
a)
OG pearson scence ? Our cells need a continuous supply of
Blucose to produco energy by cellular
respiration. Inadequate glucose results in
insufficient energy, and possible death of the
cell. This is particulary true of brain cells,
Glucose is carried dissolved in the blood
plasma, at a concentration of about 0.81
mgiml. 1 enters the blood from the
digestive tract, and is absorbed by most
body eels. Despite this intake and usage, the
levels in the blood do not alter very much,
‘The steady concentration is due to the action
of two hormones, insulin and glucagon.
These hormones are made by groups of
specialised cells in the pancreas, called
“islets
‘When blood glucose levels increase after
‘eating, the pancreas relenses insulin. One
of the actions ofthis hormone isto cause the
liver and muscles to extract giucose from the
food token into body
(Gtyeogen is formed inte Iver from excess glucose.
Tatras gram fom hobo
Figure 4.1
The beds rpons omnes a dpa lee
bloodstream and store it as glycogen. This
lowers the glucose levels (sae Figure 4.15.)
When glucose is taken from the blood-
stream during exercise, the pancreas res-
ponds by releasing glucagon, which has the
opposite effect to insulin (see Figure 4.16.)
So, by the controlled release of the two
hormones, the glucose levels can be kept
fairly constant, This maintaining of a stable
internal environment is an example of
homeostasis. Once the response has the
desired effect then the hormone is no
onger released. The effect of having two
‘opposing’ hormones is to achieve a balance
which can be maintained by continual
adjustments.
sucose blood glucose level ls
* Glycogen inthe
Sn don
this odds glocse to the blood
FIGURE 4.16
Thebdys msprs to pin Hod gs ea, KEEPING THE BODY BALANCE
HOMEOSTASIS - continued
2) The diagram below shows a feedback system controlling blood glucose levels in the
body:
Brain detectsincreasein
blood glucose levels
{(eg.after mea))
Liver converts stored
