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The body's glands remove specific substances from the blood and alter them for rerelease into the blood or removal. Glands such as those that produce saliva and sweat secrete their products through tiny ducts or tubes on or near the body's surface. The glands without ducts, called the endocrine glands, instead secrete their products into the bloodstream; the endo- root indicates that the secretions are internal rather than on the surface. The endocrine system includes such glands as the pituitary (which controls growth, regulates the other endocrines, and performs many other tasks), the thyroid (another growth gland that also influences metabolism), the adrenals (which secrete adrenaline and steroids), the hypothalamus (which influences sleep and weight regulation), and the ovaries (which produce eggs). Endocrine problems are treated by endocrinologists.

Examples of endocrine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective As Nicholas Kristof reported recently in the New York Times, endocrine disruptors—found in plastics, makeup, ATM receipts, pesticides, food, detergent, toys; in short, found everywhere—have a negative impact on egg quality, along with sperm count. — Elizabeth Nicholas, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2021 And that’s a big problem because these chemicals are linked to a host of health concerns including endocrine disruption, metabolic and reproductive effects across genders and age groups, and even attention problems in kids. — Alison Escalante, Forbes, 27 Oct. 2021 Plastic and polyester are made from fossil fuels, and turning these materials into menstrual items often involves the use of endocrine disruptors and other environmentally-destructive chemicals. — Jessica Defin, Vogue, 22 July 2021 Cohn is also investigating the multigenerational effects of other endocrine disruptors, including BPA and polyfluorinated compounds. — Carrie Arnold, Scientific American, 21 June 2021 Human endocrine glands secrete hormones and other chemical messengers that regulate crucial functions, from growth and reproduction to hunger and body temperature. — Carrie Arnold, Scientific American, 21 June 2021 The drug carries a potential risk for a type of thyroid tumor, so it shouldn't be taken by people with a personal or family history of certain thyroid and endocrine tumors. — Linda A. Johnson, Chron, 6 June 2021 The drug carries a potential risk for a type of thyroid tumor, so it shouldn’t be taken by people with a personal or family history of certain thyroid and endocrine tumors. — Linda A. Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 4 June 2021 When her period suddenly stopped at the age of 17, Sethi was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), an endocrine disorder characterized by excess male hormones, irregular periods and cysts on the ovaries. — Anna Haines, Forbes, 27 May 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun However, many studies suggest that this group of chemicals is toxic to your organs and disrupt your endocrine system. — Joseph Deacetis, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2021 Barrett said chemicals known or suspected to disrupt the endocrine system continue to proliferate. — Evan Bush, NBC News, 2 Dec. 2021 The drug can disrupt the endocrine system, potentially affecting the activity of hormones that help regulate fetal development. — New York Times, 21 Oct. 2021 Our mitochondria sputter, our endocrine system sags, our DNA snaps. — Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2021 Infants are especially vulnerable to EDCs, since the development of their bodies depends on a healthy endocrine system. — Matt Simon, Wired, 22 Sep. 2021 Triclosan and triclocarban have been identified as endocrine-disrupting chemicals, says Andrea Gore, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Texas at Austin. — Heather Mayer Irvine, Popular Mechanics, 20 Sep. 2021 Our mitochondria sputter, our endocrine system sags, our DNA snaps. — Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2021 Our mitochondria sputter, our endocrine system sags, our DNA snaps. — Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'endocrine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for endocrine

Adjective

borrowed from French, from endo- endo- + -crine, as in olocrine, holocrine holocrine and mérocrine merocrine

Note: Word introduced by the French histologist Édouard Laguesse (1861-1927) in "Sur la formation des îlots de Langerhans dans le pancréas," Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances et mémoires de la Société de Biologie, 45. tome (1893), p. 820. The conclusions summarized in this report were treated in more detail in the author's "Recherches sur l'histogénie du pancréas chez le mouton," carried over two numbers of the Journal de l'anatomie et de la physiologie, vols. 31-32 (1895-96). In vol. 32, p. 245, Laguesse remarks on the word, now used in the collocation îlots endocrines, referring to the islets of Langerhans: "C'est en 1893 (29 juillet), dans une communication préliminaire faite à la Société de Biologie, que j'ais pour la première fois prononcé ce mot et émis cet hypothèse, mais avec une grande réserve …" ("It was in 1893 (July 29), in a preliminary communication made to the Société de Biologie, that I uttered this word and put forward this hypothesis for the first time, though with great reserve …"). In an undated manuscript note Laguesse commented on the introduction of the word: "Dès ma première communication sur les îlots pancréatiques en 1893, j'avais été gêné d'avoir toujours à répéter ce qualificatif 'à sécrétion interne' et j'étais frappé de la bonne allure et de la simplicité des termes holocrine et mérocrine créés par Ranvier. A son exemple je forgeai le vocable endocrine, de ενδον en dedans, κρινω je sépare, je sécrète. Il devait répondre à une véritable nécessité, si nous en jugeon[s] d'après son succès." ("From the time of my first communication on the pancreatic islets in 1893, I was bothered by the need to always repeat the qualification 'by internal secretion,' and I was struck by the attractiveness and simplicity of the terms holocrine and merocrine created by Ranvier. After his example I coined the word endocrine, de endon 'inside' and krinō 'I separate, I secrete.' It must have responded to a real need, to judge by its success.") (See reproduction of the note in Pierre Fossati, "Edouard Laguesse à Lille en 1893 crée le terme 'endocrine' et ouvre l'ère de l'endocrinologie," Histoire des sciences médicales, tome 38 [2004], pp. 433-40.)

Noun

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