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A lot of different hormones, Sally!

Nia Smith
Feb 29, 2016
3 min read

One day, a girl named Sally asked me a quesion. She said "Hey Nia, are hormones ONLY related to sex?" Therefore, I decided to make a blog about how there are MANY types of hormones!

Many people like Sally believe that hormones are only related to sex, which is sad because it is not true. Hormones have lots of different functions in the body. Hormones are also related to other things such as emotion, and actions.

Let's start off with the question: What are hormones ?

Hormones are a regulatory substance produced in an organism and transported in tissue fluids such as blood or sap to stimulate specific cells or tissues into action. This basically means that hormones are chemical substances that signal other specific cells to function. These chemical substances can also be identified as messenger molecules which transmit signals within the body. Hormones assist in sexual reproduction as Sally suggests in her question. However, there are several other functions other than benefiting reproduction of which hormones perform. For example, hormones change the growth of people, changes emotions, can initiate puberty, and can cause the onset of menopause.

What are some examples of hormone functions?

Hormones travel to other parts of the body where they help control how cells and organs do their work. Insulin is a hormone that is made by the beta cells in the pancreas. When its released into the blood, insulin helps regulate how the cells of the body use glucose, a type of sugar, for energy.

Prostaglandin hormones mainly affect the cells that are local to the source of damage, leaving the rest of the body free to function normally. This hormone causes swelling , inflammation, increases pain, and also increases local body temperature to help block damaged regions of the body from infection or further damage.

Leukotriene hormones help the body heal after prostaglandins have taken effect by reducing inflammation while helping white blood cells move into the area to clean up pathogens and damaged tissues.

The examples above show that there are lots of hormones in the body. But, hormones are not just in the human body. Hormones can be in plants and animals as well. Hormones play a big part in all living organisms.

Two specific plant hormones:

(1) Auxins

Auxins were the first plant hormones identified. Auxins are made mainly in the shoot tips, in embryos, and in parts of developing flowers and seeds. Auxins transport from cell to cell through the parenchyma surrounding the vascular tissues that require the use of ATP energy.

(2) Gibberellins

Gibberellins are hormone compounds that are widespread throughout the plant kingdom, and more than 75 have been isolated, to date. The compounds are numbered (GA, GA2, and so on) Gibberellic acid three (GA3) is the most widspread compound and the most throughly studied.

More than just sex hormones, Sally:

Overall, there are several different types of hormones, not just those that assist with sexual reproduction. Many people believe this misconception, like Sally did. However, people make assumptions based on popular ways of thinking. This collective thought process persuades others into thinking the same way. Dont fall into the trap!

SOURCES:

~"What Are Hormones and What Do They Do? - Homework Help - ENotes.com." Enotes.com. Enotes.com, n.d. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.

~"Types of Plant Hormones." Types of Plant Hormones. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.

~"Endocrine System." InnerBody. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.