Endocrine System

• endocrine system - composed of many glands that secrete chemical messengers called hormones to the blood vessels to regulate the different activities of the body.
• homeostasis - is the maintenance of internal balance in an organism despite changes in the environment. This mechanism is responsible for regulation and maintenance of the internal environment of our body.
• feedback mechanism - help keep these things balanced (homeostasis). These are negative feedback and positive feedback loops.
• negative feedback - is a control system that reduces or even stops the body from producing change when favorable or stable conditions are met.
• positive feedback - is a control system that causes the end products of an action to produce more of that action to occur in the feedback loop.
• stimulus - something that disrupts the body’s homeostasis; any factor in the environment that influences behavior; something that triggers (starts) a response. Is often information received through the senses
• sensor - detects the change in homeostasis.
• control center - part of the body that responds to the change and takes action. The pituitary gland in the brain is the control center.
• effector - any organ or cell that ultimately responds to the stimulus (a muscle or an organ).
• response - a response from the effector balances out the original stimulus to maintain homeostasis; a reaction to a condition or stimulus; is a reaction of a living thing to a stimulus