Video Transcript
Which endocrine organ regulates the
activity of most other endocrine glands?
This question is asking us to
determine which endocrine gland is responsible for regulating the activity of other
glands within the human endocrine system. To do this, let’s take a quick look
at some of the main organs in the human endocrine system, which have been shown in
this diagram in pink.
The endocrine system is composed of
many different glands that are responsible for secreting chemical messengers called
hormones into the bloodstream. The blood then transports these
hormones throughout the entire body, targeting specific cells called target cells,
upon which they can cause a specific effect.
One of the glands within the
endocrine system, which is of interest to us on this question, releases hormones
which have target cells in other endocrine glands, often triggering these glands to
release hormones themselves. The pituitary gland is located just
beneath the brain. It releases many different
hormones, some of which do target other endocrine glands. For this reason, the pituitary
gland is sometimes called the master gland.
One such hormone is called
thyroid-stimulating hormone, or TSH. As the name suggests,
thyroid-stimulating hormone targets cells within the thyroid gland, triggering them
to release certain thyroid hormones. The pituitary gland also releases a
hormone called adrenocorticotropic hormone, or ACTH. Adrenocorticotropic hormone targets
cells within the adrenal glands, which are two glands situated above the kidneys,
stimulating them to release a hormone called cortisol that plays an important role
in helping us respond to stress.
Let’s look at one last example of
pituitary gland hormones that can control other endocrine glands, gonadotropins,
which target cells within the gonads, or sex organs. An example of a gonadotropin is
follicle-stimulating hormone, or FSH, which stimulates the development of an egg
cell in a biological female’s gonads, the ovaries.
We now have plenty of information
to answer the question correctly. The endocrine organ that regulates
the activity of most of the endocrine glands is the pituitary gland.
