ANATOMY

Detailed explanation-1: -Endocrine glands release hormones into the bloodstream. This lets the hormones travel to cells in other parts of the body. The endocrine hormones help control mood, growth and development, the way our organs work, metabolism, and reproduction. The endocrine system regulates how much of each hormone is released.

Detailed explanation-2: -Hormones travel throughout the body, either in the blood stream or in the fluid around cells, looking for target cells. Once hormones find a target cell, they bind with specific protein receptors inside or on the surface of the cell and specifically change the cell’s activities.

Detailed explanation-3: -The hormones enter the general circulation. Eventually, they filter back to the capillaries elsewhere in the body. Unlike the red blood cells, hormones travel freely through the capillary walls. Though they travel everywhere in the body, hormones only influence specific target cells.

Detailed explanation-4: -Hormones are “cleared” from the plasma in several ways, including (1) metabolic destruction by the tissues, (2) binding with the tissues, (3) excretion by the liver into the bile, and (4) excretion by the kidneys into the urine.

Detailed explanation-5: -Lipid-derived (soluble) hormones such as steroid hormones diffuse across the membranes of the endocrine cell. Once outside the cell, they bind to transport proteins that keep them soluble in the bloodstream.