-
PITUITARY GLAND
Characteristics: "1" is anterior pituitary (pars distalis), "2" is pars nervosa (neurohypophysis), and "3" is the infundibulum connecting pars nervosa to the hypothalamus.
Function: Neurohypophysis stores ADH and oxytocin. Pars distalis secretes FSH, TSH, prolactin, ACTH, LH, and GH.
Location: base of brain.
-
THYROID GLAND
Characteristics: colloid is surrounded by cuboidal, follicular cells.
Function: Stores thyroglobulin and secretes thyroid hormone, T3 and T4 from follicular cells; parafollicular cells secrete calcitonin.
Location: situated anterior to the upper trachea.
-
ADRENAL GLAND
Characteristics: cortex divided into three zones: zona glomerulosa, zona fasciculata, zona reticularis; medulla readily visible.
Function: secretes mineralcorticoids, glucocorticoids, and gonadocorticoids from cortex; secretes epinephrine and norepinephrine from medulla.
Location: rests above kidneys.
-
PARATHYROID GLAND
Characteristics: The parathyroid gland is made of chief cells and oxyphil cells. It is made of denser tissue. Chief cells are numerous and smaller in size compared to the oxyphil cells.
Function: maintain the body's calcium level so that the nervous and muscular systems can function properly. When blood calcium levels drop below a certain point, calcium-sensing receptors in the parathyroid gland are activated to release parathyroid hormone into the blood.
Location: Humans have four parathyroid glands, which are usually located in the posterior side of the thyroid gland.
-
PINEAL GLAND
Characteristics: The secretory cells of the pineal gland are pinealocytes. The pineal body consists in humans of a lobular parenchyma of pinealocytes surrounded by connective tissue spaces. The gland's surface is covered by a capsule.
Function: It produces the serotonin derivative melatonin, a hormone that affects the modulation of wake/sleep patterns and seasonal functions. Abundant melatonin levels in children are believed to inhibit sexual development, and pineal tumors cause precocious puberty.
Location: it is located near the center of the brain, between the two hemispheres, tucked in a groove where the two rounded thalamic bodies join.
-
LIVER
Characteristics: central vain medially located and readily visible; portal triads consist of artery, portal vein, and bile duct.
Function: secretes bile and detoxifies the blood.
Location of portal triads: corners of lobules.
-
-
-
-
|
|