Module 2 Lesson 1 - 1
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Lesson 1 - The Endocrine System
Get Focused
You might think that you experience stress when you are cramming for examinations or worried about a friend. You may get a headache, your heart may race, or you may have a sleepless night. Your endocrine system reacts to the stress by secreting several hormones that help you cope with the stress. When the examination or the crisis has passed, you seem to return to calm because your endocrine system has returned the level of "stress" hormones to normal.
Similar to the brain in the nervous system, the endocrine system has a boss to ensure homeostasis. The kingpin of the operation is the hypothalamus/pituitary gland complex. From your previous studies, you should recall that the hypothalamus is part of the brain, making this is one of the situations where the nervous and endocrine systems overlap. From your studies in Biology 20, you may know the pituitary as the gland that regulates cellular respiration or metabolism.
If the endocrine system was not doing its job, your life would unravel quickly. You would not be able to function or develop normally. Your growth might be stunted, and ( if you are male) your voice change would never occur. Inappropriately stimulated, these glands, over-secrete or under-secrete their hormones and cause potentially life-threatening symptoms.
Similar to the brain in the nervous system, the endocrine system has a boss to ensure homeostasis. The kingpin of the operation is the hypothalamus/pituitary gland complex. From your previous studies, you should recall that the hypothalamus is part of the brain, making this is one of the situations where the nervous and endocrine systems overlap. From your studies in Biology 20, you may know the pituitary as the gland that regulates cellular respiration or metabolism.
If the endocrine system was not doing its job, your life would unravel quickly. You would not be able to function or develop normally. Your growth might be stunted, and ( if you are male) your voice change would never occur. Inappropriately stimulated, these glands, over-secrete or under-secrete their hormones and cause potentially life-threatening symptoms.
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To explore these concepts, you will investigate the following focusing question:
- How is the endocrine system organized, and how do its parts communicate with each other and with various parts of the body?