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ENDOCRINE GLANDS AND THEIR HORMONE SECRETIONS
The term ‘gland’ is given to any part of the body that develops a secretion. There are two types of glands: the exocrine and the endocrine.
Exocrine glands are usually called glands of external secretion. Among them are the salivary glands that pour saliva into the mouth and the mammary glands that produce breast milk. Glands of this type secrete the digestive juices of the stomach and the bile of the liver.
While the glands of external secretion send their products through a duct, or tube, the secretions that endocrine glands produce go directly into the bloodstream. That is why they are also known as ductless glands. The substances these glands secrete are called hormones.
The islands of Langerhans in the pancreas
Many years ago, a scientist named Paul Langerhans studied small clusters of cells that formed what he called islands scattered throughout the pancreas, the flat organ situated below and behind the stomach. The main part of the pancreas produces juices that play a major part in the digestion of proteins and fats, while the islands control the body’s use of sugar by secreting the hormone called insulin. This hormone enables the body to use, or burn, sugar and starch after they have been converted into glucose by the digestive juices. The body has to utilize this glucose in order to provide heat and energy, and to help in the utilization of other foods. Any sugar the normal body does not immediately need is stored in the liver.
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