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Mrs. Haakanson: 3 layers of what we call 'skin' but is actually more complicated than that!

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The integumentary system comprises the skin and its appendages acting to protect the body from various kinds of damage, such as loss of water or damages from outside. The integumentary system includes hair, scales, feathers, hooves, and nails.

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Basically, it regulates the hormones that we need to grow and develope.

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(Image credit: <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-65904p1.html">Sebastian Kaulitzki</a>)

The endocrine system is the collection of glands that produce hormones that regulate metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sexual function, reproduction, sleep, and mood, among other things.

Function

The endocrine system is made up of the pituitary gland, thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands, pancreas, ovaries (in females) and testicles (in males), according to the Mayo Clinic.

The word endocrine derives from the Greek words "endo," meaning within, and "crinis," meaning to secrete, according to Health Mentor Online. In general, a gland selects and removes materials from the blood, processes them and secretes the finished chemical product for use somewhere in the body. The endocrine system affects almost every organ and cell in the body, according to the Merck Manual.

Although the hormones circulate throughout the body, each type of hormone is targeted toward certain organs and tissues, the Merck Manual notes. The endocrine system gets some help from organs such as the kidney, liver, heart and gonads, which have secondary endocrine functions. The kidney, for example, secretes hormones such as erythropoietin and renin.

The thyroid also secretes a range of hormones that affect the whole body. "Thyroid hormones impact a host of vital body functions, including heart rate, skin maintenance, growth, temperature regulation, fertility and digestion," said Dr. Jerome M. Hershman, a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and author of the thyroid sections of the Merck Manual.

"In this way, the thyroid gland is the body's master metabolic control center," said Cindy Samet, a chemistry professor at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. "Brain, heart and kidney function, as well as body temperature, growth and muscle strength - and much more - are at the mercy of thyroid function."

Diseases of the endocrine system

Hormone levels that are too high or too low indicate a problem with the endocrine system. Hormone diseases also occur if your body does not respond to hormones in the appropriate ways. Stress, infection and changes in the blood's fluid and electrolyte balance can also influence hormone levels, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The most common endocrine disease in the United States is diabetes, a condition in which the body does not properly process glucose, a simple sugar. This is due to the lack of insulin or, if the body is producing insulin, because the body is not working effectively, according to Dr. Jennifer Loh, chief of the department of endocrinology for Kaiser Permanente in Hawaii.

Diabetes can be linked to obesity, diet and family history, according to Dr. Alyson Myers of North Shore-LIJ Health System. "To diagnose diabetes, we do an oral glucose tolerance test with fasting."

It is also important to understand the patient's health history as well as the family history, Myers noted. Infections and medications such as blood thinners can also cause adrenal deficiencies.

Diabetes is treated with pills or insulin injections. Managing other endocrine disorders typically involves stabilizing hormone levels with medication or, if a tumor is causing an overproduction of a hormone, by removing the tumor. Treating endocrine disorders takes a very careful and personalized approach, Myers said, as adjusting the levels of one hormone can impact the balance of other hormones.

Hormone imbalances can have a significant impact on the reproductive system, particularly in women, Loh explained.

Another disorder, hypothyroidism, a parathyroid disease, occurs when the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone to meet the body's needs. Loh noted that insufficient thyroid hormone can cause many of the body's functions to slow or shut down completely. It has an easy treatment, though. "Parathyroid disease is a curable cause of kidney stones," said Dr. Melanie Goldfarb, an endocrine surgeon and director of the Endocrine Tumor Program at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, and an assistant professor of surgery at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica. The damaged part of the gland is removed surgically.

Thyroid cancer begins in the thyroid gland and starts when the cells in the thyroid begin to change, grow uncontrollably and eventually form a tumor, according to Loh. Tumors - both benign and cancerous - can also disrupt the functions of the endocrine system, Myers explained. Between the years of 1975 and 2013, the cases of thyroid cancer diagnosed yearly have more than tripled, according to a 2017 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). "While overdiagnosis may be an important component to this observed epidemic, it clearly does not explain the whole story," said Dr. Julie Sosa, one of the authors of the new study and the chief of endocrine surgery at Duke University in North Carolina. The American Cancer Society predicts that there will be about 53,990 new cases of thyroid cancer in 2018 and around 2,060 deaths from thyroid cancer.

Hypoglycemia, also called low blood glucose or low blood sugar, occurs when blood glucose drops below normal levels. This typically happens as a result of treatment for diabetes when too much insulin is taken. While Loh noted that the condition can occur in people not undergoing treatment for diabetes, such an occurrence is fairly rare.

What is an endocrinologist?

After completing four years of medical school, people who want to be endocrinologists then spend three or four years in an internship and residency program. These specialty programs cover internal medicine, pediatrics, or obstetrics and gynecology, according to the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Endocrinologists-in-training then spend two or three more years learning how to diagnose and treat hormone conditions. Overall, an endocrinologist's training will take more than 10 years after the undergraduate degree. They are certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Endocrinologists typically specialize in one or two areas of endocrinology, such as diabetes or infertility. These specialists treat patients with fertility issues and also assess and treat patients with health concerns surrounding menstruation and menopause, Loh noted.

Milestones in the study of the endocrine system

200 B.C.: The Chinese begin isolating sex and pituitary hormones from human urine and using them for medicinal purposes

1025: In medieval Persia, the writer Avicenna (980-1037) provides a detailed account on diabetes mellitus in "The Canon of Medicine" (c. 1025), describing the abnormal appetite, the collapse of sexual functions and the sweet taste of diabetic urine.

1835: Irish doctor Robert James Graves describes a case of goiter with bulging eyes (exophthalmos). The thyroid condition Graves' disease was later named after the doctor.

1902: William Bayliss and Ernest Starling perform an experiment in which they observe that acid instilled into the duodenum (part of the small intestine) causes the pancreas to begin secretion, even after they had removed all nervous connections between the two organs.

1889: Joseph von Mering and Oskar Minkowski observe that surgically removing the pancreas results in an increase of blood sugar, followed by a coma and eventual death.

1921: Otto Loewi in 1921 discovers neurohormones by incubating a frog's heart in a saline bath.

1922: Leonard Thompson, at age 14, is the first person with diabetes to receive insulin. Drugmaker Eli Lilly soon starts mass production of insulin.
Additional reporting by Alina Bradford, Live Science contributor.

(Image credit: by Ross Toro, Infographics Artist)

Editor's Note: If you'd like more information on this topic, we recommend the following book:

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Additional resources

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Kim Ann Zimmermann - Live Science Contributor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Endocrine System: Facts, Functions and Diseases

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
(Image credit: Sebastian Kaulitzki ) The endocrine system is the collection of glands that produce hormones that regulate metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sexual function, reproduction, sleep, and mood, among other things. The endocrine system is made up of the pituitary gland, thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands, pancreas, ovaries (in females) and testicles (in males), according to the Mayo Clinic.

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Why does our skin get 'Pruny' when we take long baths?

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Why does our skin get 'Pruny' when we take long baths?

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Leah G: Researchers think that the wrinkly skin is a Autonomic Nervous System Reaction because its easier to pick up wet object with wrinklier fingers and to get/give you a better grip. ☺

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why do we get red when we are embarrassed?

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why do we get red when we are embarrassed?

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Emmanuel: "Adrenaline causes your blood vessels to dilate (called vasodilation), in order to improve blood flow and oxygen delivery"

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how can not getting enough sleep stop growth 

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how can not getting enough sleep stop growth 

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It could be. A single night of no sleep will not stunt growth. But over the long term, a person's growth may be affected by not getting the full amount of sleep. That's because growth hormone is normally released during sleep. If someone consistently gets too little sleep (known as "sleep deprivation"), growth hormone is suppressed.
https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/sleep-growth.html

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what is the difference between light and dark skin?

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what is the difference between light and dark skin?

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Mia: The most important part of making skin a color is melanin. Melanin is a group of naturally occurring dark pigments, especially the pigment found in skin, hair, fur, and feathers. Dark skin has more melanin

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Do skin cells "eat" , and if so what do they need to survive?

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Do skin cells "eat" , and if so what do they need to survive?

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Didi De$
The majority of people agree that skin cells can usually be kept healthy by using moisture. According to the National Institutes of Health 'Your diet can either positively or negatively affect the condition of your skin, your body’s largest organ."
https://www.healthiestbest.com/eating-well-for-your-skin

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Early forms of sunscreen  in the 1980's to 1990 scatered or reflected the sunlight but today sunscreens work in a different way. Instead of fighting the sunlight it absorbs it but does not let it reah your skin and hurt it. The SPF on sunscreen bottles stands for Sun Protection Factor and tells you how well that sunscreen works against the sun.

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What's the deal with redheads and light skin?

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What's the deal with redheads and light skin?

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Zoe- A gene that gives people red hair often results in skin that cannot tan. Because of natural tanning, the reaction from the sun's ultraviolet light, and big amounts of pheomelanin, freckles are very common, but not an inclusive feature of redheads.

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People lose height because the discs between the vertebrae in the spine dehydrate and compress. The aging spine can also become more curved, and vertebrae can collapse (compression fracture) due to loss of bone density (osteoporosis). Loss of muscle in the torso can also contribute to stooped posture.
-https://www.google.com/search?q=why+do+we+shrink+when+we+get+older&rlz=1CAXWWL_enUS812US812&oq=why+do+we+shrink+when+we+get+older&aqs=chrome..69i57.10441j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on

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AMIEL: Dandruff is flakes of skin from your scalp. It can cause itchiness and occasionally inflammation. It is caused by bad hygiene.

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all websites I looked at say the pituitary gland is the most important because it regulates all the other glands and it produces growth hormones

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A bruise happens when you get injured and blood from the damaged capillaries. Small blood vessels leaks out. With no place to go, the blood gets trapped under the skin, and it turns into a purple mark.

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how does arm hair know how to grow only so long and know to grow when its cut 

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how does arm hair know how to grow only so long and know to grow when its cut 

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Ginny - So, the short answer is that your hair does not know that it's been cut.The only thing that affects how long your hair is and how fast it grows is the hair itself and your genetics. So, hair goes through 3 phases when it's growing. There's the anagen phase which is the growth phase and this is when it actually grows, when it gets longer. Now, on head hair, that can last between 2 and 6 years and how long that phase is, counts as how long your hair could grow to. So, some people seem to be really lucky and they can grow hair down to their waist whereas other people, no matter how hard they try, it will never get pass shoulder length.
https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/do-hairs-know-theyve-been-cut

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"Ultraviolet light and other potential causes. Much of the damage to DNA in skin cells results from ultraviolet (UV) radiation found in sunlight and in the lights used in tanning beds. But sun exposure doesn't explain skin cancers that develop on skin not ordinarily exposed to sunlight"

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Why does dieting slow down our metabolism?

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Why does dieting slow down our metabolism?

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It slows it down to conserve energy. It slows down at different extents, depending on how much you cut off calories. After a while, your body will go into starvation mode, adjusting the amount of calories you consume, based on how many you take in.

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Do Low-Calorie Diets Slow Down Metabolism? | Livestrong.com

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You may be motivated to drop a few pounds, but your body cares more about survival than weight loss. It's actually driven to maintain stores of fat because they're the back-up source of energy just in case you go into starvation mode.

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Why do teenagers often over-produce oil (oily skin)?

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Why do teenagers often over-produce oil (oily skin)?

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In some people the sebaceous glands produce too much sebum. The sebum mixes with dead skin cells and creates a block-up. This happens more to teenagers because of the hormonal changes that come with puberty.

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Why do we get bags under our eyes from not enough sleep?

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Why do we get bags under our eyes from not enough sleep?

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Zoe- When you don't get enough sleep it can cause circles under your eyes to appear or become more prominent. This will happen because lack of sleep tends to cause the blood vessels under the eyes to dilate, creating a dark tint.