The complex structure of the human body is currently the pinnacle of evolutionary transformation. Such a system requires special coordination methods. Humoral regulation is carried out with the help of hormones. But the nervous system represents the coordination of activity using the organ system of the same name.
What is the regulation of body functions
The human body has a very complex structure. From cells to organ systems, it is an interconnected system, for the normal functioning of which a clear regulatory mechanism must be created. It is carried out in two ways. The first method is the fastest. It is called nervous regulation. This process brings to life the eponymous system. There is an erroneous opinion that humoral regulation is carried out using nerve impulses. However, this is not at all true. Humoral regulation is carried out using hormones that enter the body’s fluids.
Features of nervous regulation
This system includes the central and peripheral department. If humoral regulation of body functions is carried out with the help of chemicals, then this method is a "transport highway" linking the body into a single whole. This process is happening quite quickly. Just imagine that you touched a hot iron with your hand or went barefoot in the winter in the snow. The reaction of the body will be almost instantaneous. This has the most important protective value, and contributes to adaptation and survival in various conditions. The nervous system underlies the innate and acquired reactions of the body. The first are unconditioned reflexes. These include respiratory, sucking, blinking. And over time, acquired reactions form in a person. These are unconditioned reflexes.
Features of humoral regulation
Humoral regulation of function is carried out using specialized organs. They are called glands and are combined into a separate system called the endocrine. These organs are formed by a special type of epithelial tissue and are capable of regeneration. The action of hormones is long-term in nature and continues throughout a person’s life.
What are hormones?
Glands secrete hormones. Due to the special structure, these substances accelerate or normalize various physiological processes in the body. For example, at the base of the brain is the pituitary gland. It produces growth hormone, as a result of which the human body increases in size over more than twenty years.
Glands: structural features and functioning
So, humoral regulation in the body is carried out using special organs - glands. They provide a constant internal environment, or homeostasis. Their action is in the nature of feedback. For example, such an important indicator for the body as blood sugar is regulated by the hormone insulin in the upper limit and glucagon in the lower limit. This is the mechanism of action of the endocrine system.
Endocrine glands
Humoral regulation is carried out using glands. However, depending on the structural features, these organs are combined into three groups: external (exocrine), internal (endocrine) and mixed secretion. Examples of the first group are salivary, sebaceous and lacrimal. They are characterized by the presence of their own excretory ducts. Exocrine glands secrete biologically active substances on the surface of the skin or in the body cavity.
Endocrine glands
The endocrine glands secrete hormones into the blood. They do not have their own excretory ducts, so humoral regulation is carried out using body fluids. Once in the blood or lymph, they are carried throughout the body, enter each of its cells. And the result of this is the acceleration or deceleration of various processes. This may be growth, sexual and psychological development, metabolism, the activity of individual organs and their systems.
Hypo- and hyperfunction of the endocrine glands
The activity of each endocrine gland has "two sides of the coin." Consider this with specific examples. If the pituitary gland releases an excessive amount of growth hormone, gigantism develops, and with a lack of this substance, dwarfism is observed. Both that, and another is a deviation from normal development.
The thyroid gland secretes several hormones at once. These are thyroxine, calcitonin and triiodothyronine. With an insufficient number of babies, cretinism develops, which manifests itself in a lag in mental development. If hypofunction manifests itself in adulthood, it is accompanied by swelling of the mucous membrane and subcutaneous tissue, hair loss and drowsiness. If the amount of hormones in this gland exceeds the normal limit, a person may develop a basic disease. It manifests itself in increased excitability of the nervous system, trembling limbs, causeless anxiety. All this inevitably leads to emaciation and loss of vitality.
The parathyroid, thymus, and adrenal glands also belong to the endocrine glands. The last glands at the time of a stressful situation release the hormone adrenaline. Its presence in the blood provides the mobilization of all vital forces and the ability to adapt and survive in conditions non-standard for the body. First of all, this is expressed in providing the muscle system with the necessary amount of energy. The reverse-acting hormone, which is also secreted by the adrenal glands, is called norepinephrine. It is also crucial for the body, as it protects it from excessive excitability, loss of strength, energy, and rapid wear. This is another example of the reverse action of the human endocrine system.
Mixed secretion glands
These include the pancreas and gonads. The principle of their work is twofold. The pancreas produces two types of hormones at once . These are insulin and glucagon. They, respectively, lower and increase the level of glucose in the blood. In a healthy human body, this regulation passes unnoticed. However, in violation of this function, a serious disease occurs, which is called diabetes mellitus. People with this diagnosis need artificial insulin. As the pancreatic gland secretes digestive juice. This substance is secreted into the first part of the small intestine - the duodenum. Under his influence, the process of splitting complex biopolymers into simple ones takes place there. It is in this section that proteins and lipids break down into their constituent parts.
The sex glands also secrete various hormones. These are male testosterone and female estrogen. These substances begin to act in the embryonic period. In the course of embryonic development, sex hormones affect the formation of sex, and then form certain sexual characteristics. Like glands of external secretion, they form gametes. Man, like all mammals, is a dioecious organism. His reproductive system has a general plan of structure and is represented by the sex glands, their ducts and directly by the cells. In women, these are paired ovaries with their paths and eggs. In men, the reproductive system consists of testes, excretory canals and sperm cells. In this case, these glands act as glands of external secretion.
Nervous and humoral regulation are closely interconnected. They work as a single mechanism. Humoral is more ancient in origin, has a long-term effect and acts on the whole body, since hormones are carried by the blood and enter each cell. And the nervous one works pointwise, at a specific time and in a certain place according to the principle of "here and now." After changing the conditions, its action ceases.
So, the humoral regulation of physiological processes is carried out using the endocrine system. These organs are capable of releasing special biologically active substances called hormones into liquid media.