Page 26 - The Miracle of Hormones

THE MIRACLE OF HORMONES

function of the adrenal gland,"
how "it performs its func-
tion" and "the sign re-
quired to activate it?"
Hypothalamus
How do the cells
that constitute the
adrenal gland under-
stand and interpret the
Anterior
command sent to them
pituitary
from the pituitary gland,
Posterior
and why do they obey it? pituitary
When we consider the details of the
matter, we see that the dimensions of this
wonder become even wider. A hormone pro-
duced by the pituitary gland is designed to fit The pituitary gland acts like
an orchestra conductor who
on the binding site of the targeted cell. Howe- ensures order in our bodies.
ver, no pituitary cell has ever seen the hormo-
nal gland to which a message has been sent. The pituitary cells cannot
know the design of the receptors on the cells that compose the adrenal
gland. This can be compared to a person who sets out on a journey to a
house thousands of kilometers away in another country, who finds him-
self in front of a door he has never seen, yet has a key that fits the lock at
the first try. How do the cells that make up the pituitary gland know how
to make the key that fits these locks that they have never seen?
Another important point is that there is no room for error in this sys-
tem. If the key produced cannot open the targeted door (that is, if the hor-
mone produced does not perform its function in the designated area),
death is the result. For example, if the hormone produced by the pituitary
gland does not operate on the adrenal gland, the body cannot survive.
In order to understand more fully what a great wonder this system
is, we may use the following method: Stand in front of a mirror, place
your finger at the point between your two eyes. Five to six centimeters
behind this point, right inside your skull, is the piece of flesh, the size of

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