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Your body's endocrine system works in concert with your
nervous system to regulate your body's activities.
While your nervous system uses electrical impulses to
keep you in touch with your external and internal
environments, your endocrine system works through chemical
messengers called hormones. These messengers influence
growth, development, and metabolic activities. While
electrical impulses are quick, hormones work more slowly,
sometimes taking years to complete a job. You can see the
endocrine system at work as you watch a child grow from a
baby to an adolescent, from a child to a sexual adult.
Hormones come from endocrine glands and circulate through
the blood stream. Only cells genetically designated as
receptors will be affected by these hormones. In all, the
body produces more than 30 hormones, regulating your body
size, your body temperature, your sleep patterns, how you
use food, when you start puberty, and how you handle stress,
among other things.
Where and what
The major glands of the endocrine system include:
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Hypothalamus
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Located in the brain; controls involuntary
bodily functions like sleep and appetite
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Pituitary
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Located in the brain; signals other glands to
secrete hormones
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Pineal
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Located at the base of the brain; secretes
melatonin
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Thyroid
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Located in the neck; stimulates metabolism, bone
growth, and regulates body temperature
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Parathyroid
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Located in the neck; regulates use of calcium
and phosphorus
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Adrenals
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Located in kidneys; influences metabolism, blood
pressure, and the body's salt and potassium balance
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Ovaries, testes
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Located in lower abdomen; influences male and
female characteristics; sperm production and egg
production
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Pancreas
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Located in abdominal cavity; secretes insulin
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Diabetes-endocrine malfunction
It is estimated that 16 million American have diabetes
and another 20 million are at risk of developing the
disease.
The pancreas produces insulin, and when the body stops
making enough insulin or doesn't use insulin properly,
glucose (blood sugar) builds up in the blood and the cells
don't get the food they need to do their jobs.
Diabetes cannot be cured, but it can be managed through
constant monitoring. Blood sugar levels must be maintained
as close to normal as possible. The treatment and management
of diabetes varies from person to person, says Greg Doelle,
M.D., UI endocrinologist. "You and your doctor must decide
what form of treatment is best."
UI Health Care, a leader in the treatment of patients
with diabetes and development of innovative programs to
prevent diabetes, uses an integrated, multidisciplinary team
including physicians, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, and
physical therapists.
Services include:
For more information about diabetes, its diagnosis, and
treatment, call UI
Health Access, 319-384-8442, ext. 404, or 800-777-8442,
ext. 404.
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For more information:
Listed above are several Web sites that offer additional
information on this topic. University of Iowa Health Care
does not sponsor or endorse these sites, or guarantee the
accuracy of the information contained on these sites. These
links are here for general information only, and should not
be used for personal diagnosis or treatment. If you have any
questions, please contact UI
Health Access.
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