HormonesintheBody Uptothebeginningofthetwentiethcentury,thenervoussystemwasthoughttocontrolallcommunicationwithinthebodyandtheresultingintegrationofbehavior.Scientistshaddeterminedthatnervesran,essentially,onelectricalimpulses.Theseimpulseswerethoughttobetheengineforthought,emotion,movement,andinternalprocessessuchasdigestion.However,experimentsbyWilliamBaylissandErnestStarlingonthechemicalsecretin,whichisproducedinthesmallintestinewhenfoodentersthestomach,eventuallychallengedthatview.Fromthesmallintestine,secretintravelsthroughthebloodstreamtothepancreas.There,itstimulatesthereleaseofdigestivechemicals.Inthisfashion,theintestinalcellsthatproducesecretinultimatelyregulatetheproductionofdifferentchemicalsinadifferentorgan,thepancreas. Suchacoordinationofprocesseshadbeenthoughttorequirecontrolbythenervoussystem;BaylissandStarlingshowedthatitcouldoccurthroughchemicalsalone.ThisdiscoveryspurredStartingtocointhetermhormonetorefertosecretin,takingitfromtheGreekwordhormon,meaning“toexcite”or“tosetinmotion.”Ahormoneisachemicalproducedbyonetissuetomakethingshappenelsewhere. Asmorehormoneswerediscovered,theywerecategorized,primarilyaccordingtotheprocessbywhichtheyoperatedonthebody.Someglands(whichmakeuptheendocrinesystem)secretehormonesdirectlyintothebloodstream.Suchglandsincludethethyroidandthepituitary.Theexocrinesystemconsistsoforgansandglandsthatproducesubstancesthatareusedoutsidethebloodstream,primarilyfordigestion.Thepancreasisonesuchorgan,althoughitsecretessomechemicalsintothebloodandthusisalsopartoftheendocrinesystem. Muchhasbeenlearnedabouthormonessincetheirdiscovery.Someplaysuchkeyrolesinregulatingbodilyprocessesorbehaviorthattheirabsencewouldcauseimmediatedeath.Themostabundanthormoneshaveeffectsthatarelessobviouslyurgentbutcanbemorefar-reachinganddifficulttotrack:Theymodifymoodsandaffecthumanbehavior,evensomebehaviorwenormallythinkofasvoluntary.Hormonalsystemsareveryintricate.Evenminuteamountsoftherightchemicalscansuppressappetite,calmaggression,andchangetheattitudeofaparenttowardachild.Certainhormonesacceleratethedevelopmentofthebody,regulatinggrowthandform;othersmayevendefineanindividual’spersonalitycharacteristics.Thequantitiesandproportionsofhormonesproducechangewithage,soscientistshavegivenagreatdealofstudytoshiftsintheendocrinesystemovertimeinthehopesofalleviatingailmentsassociatedwithaging. Infact,somehormonetherapiesarealreadyverycommon.Acombinationofestrogenandprogesteronehasbeenprescribedfordecadestowomenwhowanttoreducemoodswings,suddenchangesinbodytemperature,andotherdiscomfortscausedbylowernaturallevelsofthosehormonesastheyentermiddleage.Knownashormonereplacementtherapy(HRT),thetreatmentwasalsobelievedtopreventweakeningofthebones.AtleastonestudyhaslinkedHRTwithaheightenedriskofheartdiseaseandcertaintypesofcancer.HRTmayalsoincreasethelikelihoodthatbloodclots—dangerousbecausetheycouldtravelthroughthebloodstreamandblockmajorbloodvessels—willform.SomeproponentsofHRThavetemperedtheirenthusiasminthefaceofthisnewevidence,recommendingitonlytopatientswhosesymptomsinterferewiththeirabilitiestolivenormallives. Humangrowthhormonemayalsobegiventopatientswhoaresecretingabnormallylowamountsontheirown.Becauseofthecomplicatedeffectsgrowthhormonehasonthebody,suchtreatmentsaregenerallyrestrictedtochildrenwhowouldbepathologicallysmallinstaturewithoutit.Growthhormoneaffectsnotjustphysicalsizebutalsothedigestionoffoodandtheagingprocess.Researchersandfamilyphysicianstendtoagreethatitisfoolhardytodispenseitincasesinwhichtherisksarenotclearlyoutweighedbythebenefits. Tobeconsideredahormone,achemicalproducedinthebodymust_____.
A.be part of the digestive process B.influence the operations of the nervous system C.affect processes in a different part of the body D.regulate attitudes and behavior正确答案C
