The human body is a functioning system of many diverse parts which
are all related to one another. The
hormones which are found in humans are no different; they interact within the
human body and take part in many vital and necessary procedures for the survival
and reproduction of humans. The two
major systems in which control and manipulate hormones would be the nervous and
endocrine systems. This paper will
examine these two systems and their relationship on hormones in humans.
Firstly hormones are chemical messengers that are carried throughout
the blood stream to target cells (Freeman, 2002). Human hormones consist in very small
percentages but their effect on target cells has drastic significance. Hormones are carried to many different cells
in the body and they produce extensive results.
The majority of hormones are grouped into three different groups; they
are a polypeptide group, an amino acid derivative group, and a steroid group
(Freeman, 2002.) They allow humans to
organize substantial numbers of cells within the body in reaction to changes
from environmental challenges, growth, development, reproduction and
homeostasis (Freeman, 2002).
The endocrine system found in humans is a compilation of cells,
tissues and organs responsible for the production and secretion of hormones. One of the parts of the endocrine system is
the adrenal glands. More specifically to
this is the hormone epinephrine, this hormone is an example of just what role
hormones play inside the human body.
Once a human is placed into an unsafe situation both the central nervous
system and endocrine system are operational.
The reaction of the human to the unsafe situation is an increase free
glucose and fatty acids in the blood as well as increased pulse rate and
results also showed an increase in blood flow to the heart, brain and
muscles. The epinephrine changes the
body from being relaxed to a body of tenseness and readiness (Freeman,
2002).
When discussing the nervous system and its involvement in hormones
the most essential region to discuss is the pituitary gland. As previously discussed that both the
endocrine system and nervous system both have a role in how hormones operate
within the human body. The pituitary
gland is found at the base of the brain and is attached to the hypothalamus
(Freeman, 2002). An experiment carried
out by Smith in which he removed the pituitary gland of rats showed the
relationship between the endocrine system and the nervous system. Once the pituitary gland had been removed the
rats stopped growing and they could not keep a consistent body
temperature. Both of these areas were
controlled by the release of hormones that came from the adrenal glands. This showed that without the pituitary gland
other gland areas from the endocrine system ceased to function (Freeman, 2002). The consensus became that the pituitary gland
was the master gland and that many other glands in the endocrine system
depended on hormones from the pituitary in order for them to function properly
(Freeman, 2002).
The fact that humans have hormones in our bodies allows us to
survive and have allowed our species to become a very successful species. The relationship that is present between the
endocrine system and nervous system allows for hormones to be direct and produces
in a very efficient and useful matter.
Without this interaction between the two systems humans could
potentially face situations unprepared or could suffer much greater
consequences than if hormones were not present in the human body.
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