endocrine glands

Endocrine glands

Ductless glands in the endocrine system that secrete hormones needed for normal functioning as well as for the sustaining of life. These glands work via hormones that are typically secreted into the bloodstream and travel to other organs to have their effects. If the hormones act upon nearby cells, even upon other cells within
the same gland, they display the paracrine effect.


The endocrine glands are the following: the adrenal glands, hypothalamus, ovaries, pancreas, parathyroid glands, pineal gland, pituitary gland, testes, thyroid gland, and the thymus. As researchers learn more and more about the human body, all organs in the body can clearly act as endocrine glands, which is to say, they secrete hormones.

For instance, the gastrointestinal tract is now known to synthesize and secrete over 40 hormones, many of whose function and operation are still unknown. The heart makes a hormone called atrial natriuretic factor or peptide that is involved
in the body’s salt and water balance.