Page 33 - The Miracle of Hormones

The Two Governors Of Our Body:
The Hypothalamus And The Pituitary Gland

cage refused to multiply and grow, what would happen? The growing
heart would be squeezed in the undersized chest cavity and die.
Or if the bone of the nose grew but the skin on it stopped growing,
the bone of the nose would tear the skin and become exposed. The har-
monious growth of muscles, bones, skin and other organs is ensured by
the obedience of each individual cell to the growth hormone.
The growth hormone also gives the command for the development
of cartilage at the ends of the bones. This cartilage is like the unformed
1
shape of a newly born baby; if it does not grow, the baby cannot grow.
The cells in this area cause the bone to grow lengthwise but how do they
know that the bone must grow in this way? If this bone grew sideways,
the leg would not lengthen; it could even rip the skin and be exposed.
But everything is planned and this plan is written in the nucleus of every
cell.
Another astonishing fact about the growth hormone is when it is se-
creted and how much. The growth hormones are secreted in exactly the
right amount and at the time when the period of growth is most intense.

The growth hormone ensures that all of the organs in the body grow proportion-
ately to one another. For example, development of the organs in the abdominal
cavity and of the chest cavity is proportionate. If the growth of the chest cavity
stopped and the heart continued to develop, the rib cage would crush the heart
and cause death.

31