Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-5b777bbd6c-ks5gx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-06-18T07:09:21.334Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

2 - The endocrine glands and their hormones

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2015

Michael Wilkinson  and
Richard E. Brown
Michael Wilkinson
Affiliation:
Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia
Richard E. Brown
Affiliation:
Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia
Get access

Summary

The endocrine glands

The location of the human endocrine glands is shown in Figure 2.1. The pineal gland is a small gland lying deep between the cerebral cortex and the cerebellum at the posterior end of the third ventricle in the middle of the brain. The hypothalamus exerts some degree of control over most of the endocrine glands through the release of neurohormones, neuropeptides and neurotransmitters. The pituitary gland hangs from the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain and sits in a small cavity of bone above the roof of the mouth.

The thyroid gland is located in the neck and the small parathyroid glands are embedded in the surface of the thyroid. In the chest is the thymus gland, which is very important for the production of T lymphocytes that play a critical role in the immune response. The heart and lungs also act as endocrine glands that secrete hormones. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract, consisting of the stomach and intestines, is also an important source of hormones. The liver secretes several hormones such as somatomedin (also called IGF-1), important for growth. The adrenal glands are complex endocrine glands situated on top of the kidneys. The pancreas secretes hormones involved in regulating blood sugar levels and the kidney also produces hormone-like chemicals. The testes and ovaries produce gonadal hormones, or sex hormones, which, in addition to the maintenance of fertility and sex characteristics, have important effects on behavior. During pregnancy, the placenta acts as an endocrine gland. The endocrine glands occur in similar locations in all vertebrates. A large endocrine gland is fat (adipose tissue) which can be found beneath the skin (subcutaneous), in the abdominal cavity surrounding the heart and GI tract (see Figure 2.1), and within tissues such as liver and muscle. Fat secretes a variety of hormones called adipokines. Finally, two of the largest tissues in the body – skeletal muscle and bone – secrete factors that act in an endocrine fashion.

Type
Chapter
Information
An Introduction to Neuroendocrinology , pp. 19 - 44
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2015

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Ahima, R. S. and Lazar, M. A. (2008). “Adipokines and the peripheral and neural control of energy balance,” Mol Endocrinol 22, 1023–1031.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bass, J. (2013). “Forever (FGF) 21,” Nat Med 19, 1090–1092.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benarroch, E. E. (2007). “Enteric nervous system: functional organization and neurologic implications,” Neurol 69, 1953–1957.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bikle, D. D. (2010). “Vitamin D: newly discovered actions require reconsideration of physiologic requirements,” Trends Endocrinol Metab 21, 375–384.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bordicchia, M., Liu, D., Amri, E.-Z., Ailhaud, G., Dessi-Fulgheri, P., Zhang, C.et al. (2012). “Cardiac natriuretic peptides act via p38 MAPK to induce the brown fat thermogenic program in mouse and human adipocytes,” J Clin Invest 122, 1022–1036.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boron, W. F. and Boulpaep, E. L. (2005). Medical Physiology, updated edn. (Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders), p. 1011.Google Scholar
Bostrum, P., Wu, J., Jedrychowski, M. P., Korde, L. Y., Ye, L., Lo, J. C.et al. (2012). “A PGC1-α-dependent myokine that drives brown-fat-like development of white fat and thermogenesis,” Nature 481, 463–468.Google Scholar
Bradley, D. P., Kulstad, R. and Schoeller, D. A. (2010). “Exenatide and weight loss,” Nutrition 26, 243–249.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Charmandari, E., Tsigos, C. and Chrousos, G. (2005). “Endocrinology of the stress response,” Annu Rev Physiol 67, 259–284.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chicurel, M. (2000). “Whatever happened to leptin?”Nature 404, 538–540.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dhillo, W. S., Murphy, K. G. and Bloom, S. (2006). “Endocrinology: The next 60 years,” J Endocrinol 190, 7–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frühbeck, G., Becerril, S., Sainz, N., Garrastachu, P. and Garcia-Velloso, M. J. (2009). “BAT: A new target for human obesity?”Trends Pharmacol Sci 30, 387–396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gardiner, J. V., Jayasena, C. N. and Bloom, S. R. (2008). “Gut hormones: A weight off your mind,” J Neuroendocrinol 20, 834–841.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldstein, A. L. and Badamchian, M. (2004). “Thymosins: Chemistry and biological properties in health and disease,” Expert Opin Biol Ther 4, 559–573.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guntur, A. R. and Rosen, C. J. (2012). “Bone as an endocrine organ,” Endocr Pract 18, 758–762.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hall, J., Roberts, R. and Vora, N. (2009). “Energy homoeostasis: The roles of adipose tissue-derived hormones, peptide YY and Ghrelin,” Obes Facts 2, 117–125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henry, B. A. and Clarke, I. J. (2008). “Adipose tissue hormones and the regulation of food intake,” J Neuroendocrinol 20, 842–849.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huh, J. Y., Panagiotou, G., Mougios, V., Brinkoetter, M., Vamvini, M. T., Schneider, B. E.et al. (2012). “FNDG5 and irisin in humans: I. Predictors of circulating concentrations in serum and plasma and II. mRNA expression and circulating concentrations in response to weight loss and exercise,” Metabolism 61, 1725–1738.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jelkmann, W. and Lundby, C. (2011). “Blood doping and its detection,” Blood 118, 2395–2404.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kadmiel, M. and Cidlowski, J. A. (2013). “Glucocorticoid receptor signaling in health and disease,” Trends Pharmacol Sci 34, 518–530.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Karsenty, G. and Ferron, M. (2012). “The contribution of bone to whole-organism physiology,” Nature 481, 314–320.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Karsenty, G. and Oury, F. (2012). “Biology without walls: The novel endocrinology of bone,” Ann Rev Physiol 74, 87–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, D. P. (2012). “Irisin, light my fire,” Science 336, 42–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Khosla, S., Oursler, M. J. and Monroe, D. G. (2012). “Estrogen and the skeleton,” Trends Endocr Metab 23, 576–581.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
LeBrasseur, N. K. (2012). “Building muscle, browning fat and preventing obesity by inhibiting myostatin,” Diabetologia 55, 13–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lickert, H. (2013). “Betatrophin fuels β cell proliferation: First step toward regenerative therapy?”Cell Metab 18, 5–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manson, J. E., Mayne, S. T. and Clinton, S. K. (2011). “Vitamin D and prevention of cancer – ready for prime time?”N Engl J Med 364, 1385–1387.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McPherron, A. C. and Lee, S.-J. (2002). “Suppression of body fat accumulation in myostatin-deficient mice,” J Clin Invest 109, 595–601.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morton, G. J., Cummings, D. E., Baskin, D. G., Barsh, G. S. and Schwartz, M. W. (2006). “Central nervous system control of food intake and body weight,” Nature 443, 289–295.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murphy, K. G. and Bloom, S. R. (2006). “Gut hormones and the regulation of energy homeostasis,” Nature 444, 854–859.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Myers, M. G., Heymsfield, S. B., Haft, C., Kahn, B. B., Laughlin, M., Leibel, R. L.et al. (2012). “Challenges and opportunities of defining clinical leptin resistance,” Cell Metab 15, 150–156.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pedersen, B. K. and Febbraio, M. A. (2012). “Muscles, exercise and obesity: Skeletal muscle as a secretory organ,” Nat Rev Endocr 8, 457–465.Google ScholarPubMed
Potter, L. R., Abbey-Hosch, S. and Dickey, D. M. (2006). “Natriuretic peptides, their receptors, and cyclic guanosine monophosphate-dependent signaling functions,” Endocr Revs 27, 47–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raghow, R. (2013). “Betatrophin: A liver-derived hormone for pancreatic β-cell proliferation,” World J Diabet 4, 234–237.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ritchie, R. H., Rosenkranz, A. C. and Kaye, D. M. (2009). “B-type natriuretic peptide: endogenous regulator of myocardial structure, biomarker and therapeutic target,” Curr Mol Med 9, 814–825.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Romijn, J. A., Corssmit, E. P., Havekes, L. M. and Pijl, H. (2008). “Gut-brain axis,” Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 11, 518–521.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sam, A. H., Troke, R. C., Tan, T. M. and Bewick, G. A. (2012). “The role of the gut-brain axis in modulating food intake,” Neuropharmacol 63, 46–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schwartz, D. R. and Lazar, M. A. (2011). “Human resistin: Found in translation from mouse to man,” Trends Endocrinol Metab 22, 259–265.Google ScholarPubMed
Stefan, N. and Häring, H.-U. (2013). “The role of hepatokines in metabolism,” Nat Rev Endocr 9, 144–152.Google ScholarPubMed
Strauss, J. F. and Barbieri, R.L. (2004). Yen and Jaffe's Reproductive Endocrinology, th edn. (Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders).Google Scholar
Unger, R. H. and Orci, L. (2010). “Paracrinology of islets and the paracrinopathy of diabetes,” Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 107, 16009–16012.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Lommel, A., Bolle, T., Fannes, W. and Lauweryns, J. M. (1999). “The pulmonary neuroendocrine system: The past decade,” Arch Histol Cytol 62, 1–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Villarroya, F. (2012). “Irisin, turning up the heat,” Cell Metab 15, 277–278.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wallenius, V., Wallenius, K., Ahren, B., Rudling, M., Carlsten, H., Dickson, S. L.et al. (2002). “Interleukin-6 deficient mice develop mature-onset obesity,” Nat Med 8, 75–79.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whittle, A. J. and Vidal-Puig, A. (2012). “NPs – heart hormones that regulate brown fat,” J Clin Invest 122, 804–807.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Widmaier, E. P., Raff, H. and Strang, K. T. (2010). Vander's Human Physiology: The Mechanisms of Body Function, th edn. (New York: McGraw-Hill).Google Scholar
Xiong, T., Qu, Y., Mu, D. and Ferriero, D. (2011). “Erythropoietin for neonatal brain injury: Opportunity and challenge,” Int J Dev Neurosci 29, 583–591.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yates, D. (2013). “Signalling starvation,” Nat Rev Neurosci 14, 670–671.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×