The Endocrine System

Hormones control a vast array of bodily functions, including sexual reproduction and sexual development, whole-body metabolism, blood glucose levels, plasma Ca2+ concentration, and growth. Hormones are produced in, and released from, diverse places, including the hypothalamus and pituitary, the adrenal gland, the thyroid gland, the testes and ovaries, and the pancreas, and they act on target cells that are often at a considerable physical distance from the site of production. Since they are carried in the bloodstream, hormones are capable of a diffuse whole-body effect, as well as a localized effect, depending on the distance between the production site and the site of action. In many ways the endocrine system is similar to the nervous system, in that it is an intercellular signaling system in which cells communicate via cellular secretions. Hormones are, in a sense, neurotransmitters that are capable of acting on target cells throughout the body, or conversely, neurotransmitters can be thought of as hormones with a localized action.Despite the analogy with neural transmission, there are significant differences between the endocrine and nervous systems that have important ramifications for mathematical modeling. Not only is the endocrine system extremely complicated, but the data that are presently obtainable are less susceptible to quantitative analysis than, say, voltage measurements in neurons. Further, the distance between the sites of hormone production and action, and the complexities inherent in the mode of transport, make it extraordinarily difficult to construct quantitative models of hormonal control. For these reasons, models in endocrinology are less mechanistic than many of the models presented elsewhere in this book, and thus, in some ways, less realistic.