Endocrine System Essay

The endocrine system is the collection of glands that produce hormones that regulate metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sexual function, reproduction, sleep, and mood, among other things. The endocrine system is a very important system in the human body. There are many endocrine glands in this system, including -but not limited to- the pituitary gland, hypothalamus, pineal gland, thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands, pancreas, gonads, placenta, thymus, heart and gastric and intestinal mucosa. Endocrine glands are ductless glands that secrete hormones directly into the blood stream. The basic function of the endocrine system is to maintain homeostasis. The endocrine system uses hormones to communicate/control.
The class viewed sheep brains, human models, and demo cats. The class separated into groups and began locating the listed endocrine glands on the human models. There were also human brain models to identify specific glands. Once finished, the major endocrine glands of the sheep brain were viewed. The sheep brain is quite similar to the human brain except for proportion. Although, the orientation of the human brain is superior to inferior whereas the sheep brain is anterior to posterior. The demo cats were very interesting. One of the cats viewed was pregnant. The placenta was obvious. It surrounded each kitten individually. Although the cat and human are very different externally, both have similar internal composition. Majority of the endocrine glands are placed in similar positions. Some endocrine glands are totally different when it comes to placement. For example, the adrenal glands, in the human models, sit on top of the kidneys. Opposed to the cat, the adrenal glands sit to the side of the kidneys. The thymus is anterior to the heart in the demo cat. The thymus is posterior to the heart in the human models. Although different, the studied examples of endocrine glands were all very similar in structure and