Overview
A network of glands that make/release hormones:
- Hypothalamus: connects brain to the hormone system and tells the pituitary gland what to do.
- Pituitary gland: “Master”; Controls the other glands, makes growth hormone.
- Thyroid gland: “Energy”; Controls metabolism, growth and more.
- Adrenal glands: “Stress”; Makes adrenaline and cortisol. Blood pressure.
- Pancreas: “Sugar”; Makes glucagon and insulin. maintains homeostasis
- Gonads: “Sex”; Ovaries and testes. Makes sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone
Mental model:
You can view the Endocrine system as a balancing act. It works with feedback loops;
eg (metabolic balance):
Receptor cells notice thyroxine below a certain level so Hypothalamus releases Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) so that the pituitary gland knows to release Thyroid-stimulating Hormone (TSH) which causes the Thyroid gland to start producing thyroxine finally this stops the hypothalamus from releasing more TRH negative feedback loop finished, voila