Endocrine and Nervous System

Endocrine and Nervous System

This assignment investigates the Endocrine and Nervous System of the body that maintains homeostasis and the various factors that can lead to an imbalance in the body.

Endocrine System

Ref 1http://ezine.article24h.com/1.4a/your-endocrine-system/
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The Endocrine System is made up of several glands which secrete hormones into the fluids of the body.   A hormone is a substance that is secreted by a cell that has an effect on another metabolic cell or tissue.   The glands help regulate metabolic processes such as the rate of chemical reactions, the transport of substances through membranes and the regulation of water concentrations in the body.   They also assist in the development and growth processes.   The diagram above shows the position of the main endocrine glands, the hormones that are secreted and their function.

Human Nervous System

The nervous system is a network of communications.   It allows the body to react and adjust to changes in the outside environment and within the body.   The nervous system is very complex and broken down into various sections.   It is divided initially into two primary sections, the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS).   The two key components of the CNS are the brain and the spinal cord these organs receive, interpret and dispatch impulses to glands and muscles for appropriate actions. The PNS is associated with the nerves of the brain and spinal cord and allows them to communicate with the remainder of the body.

There are two divisions of the peripheral nervous system, the somatic and the autonomic nervous systems which send voluntary and involuntary messages from sense organs to skeletal muscles and from internal receptors to smooth muscles and glands respectively.   The autonomic nervous system has two subdivisions, the sympathetic motor system which controls the ‘fight or flight’ response and the parasympathetic motor system, the activity of this...