Mechanism of secretion in endocrine glands

  • Kazumasa Kurosumi
Chapter
Part of the Electron Microscopy in Biology and Medicine book series (EMBM, volume 1)

Abstract

The main difference between exocrine and endocrine glands is the absence of ducts in the endocrine glands. Therefore, the latter are often called ductless glands, ‘glandulae sine ductibus’. Because they have no means of conveying secretory products away from the gland, the secretion enters the circulation via the blood vessels richly distributed throughout the gland. In a few cases lymphatic vessels receive the secretory products. As the action of secretion of endocrine glands transported either by blood or lymph is usually stimulation of other sensitive organs, the endocrine substance is called a hormone, meaning stimulator or accelerator. The sensitive organs which are stimulated by the hormones are termed target organs.

Keywords

Golgi Apparatus Secretory Granule Endocrine Cell Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum Neurosecretory Cell 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Boston, The Hague, Dordrecht, Lancaster 1984

Authors and Affiliations

  • Kazumasa Kurosumi
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Morphology, Institute of EndocrinologyGunma UniversityMaebashiJapan

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