  
The Human Body's Messenger: The Hormonal System
While you read this page, countless processes take place
in your body without any trouble and you don't feel anything
reflecting their true complexity. The number of times your
heart beats in a second, the rate of calcium in your bones,
the sugar level in your blood, the amount of water your kidneys
filter every minute and many other details like these are
realized as the result of the harmonious working of the cells
in your body. Not just a hundred, a thousand or a million
of them; there are about 100 trillion cells in your body.
What, then, provides the harmony among this number of cells?
The answer is, your body's hormonal system.
The pea-sized pituitary gland controls and regulates the production
of many hormones throughout the body. It also oversees the
other glands and keeps hormone levels in check. It works under
the control of the region of the brain called the "hypothalamus."
The pituitary gland looks like a piece of meat. It senses,
because of data coming from the hypothalamus, what is needed
in which circumstances. It determines which particular cells
of which particular organs need to work to fulfill these needs,
the chemical mechanisms of these cells, their physical structures,
the products that need to be produced and the time when the
production of these products needs to be stopped. In addition,
by means of a very special communications system, it gives
commands to all necessary units for these needs to be met.
For instance, the human body develops until the end of adolescence.
Trillions of cells multiply by dividing, thus the growth of
tissue and organs is accomplished. When a certain size is
reached, the growth activity in the organs stops. It is the
pituitary gland that senses how much we need to grow and which
stops our growth when we reach the appropriate size. The pituitary
gland adjusts, at the same time, the metabolism of carbohydrates
and fat in the body. When needed, it increases the production
of protein in the cells.
If you feel dizzy or experience some kind of distress, you
only have to rest for a while and your distress should disappear.
If the cause of this distress is a fall in your blood pressure,
the pituitary gland reacts immediately. The molecules secreted
by the pituitary gland cause the muscles around the veins
to contract. The contraction of millions of muscles and narrowing
of veins increases the blood pressure and makes you feel better.
The pituitary gland is only one of the regions where hormones
are secreted all together. In addition, regions such as the
thyroid gland, parathyroid gland, adrenal glands, pancreas,
ovaries and testes secrete very important hormones for the
continuity of life. If there is a loss or impaired functioning
in any of these regions, the continuity of life becomes impossible.
The hormonal system, like other systems in the body, works
in perfect harmony. It is undoubtedly Allah, the Almighty,
Who provides this unity and has created this perfect communication
system in the human body.
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