Text A Endocrine Glands

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1. There are two organ systems - the nervous system and the endo-i rines - which coordinate the activities of all others. Almost nothing can happen to the body anywhere without appropriate response either motor or perceptual, voluntary or involuntary. Similarly, various parts of the endocrine system act upon each other and other organs, stimulating them i о do their special jobs. Thus, the thyroid gland stimulates the metabolism of all bodily parts. The adrenal medulla mobilizes the activities of many organ systems in case of the emergency. And the adrenal cortex exercises control over many body functions, so important that its removal results in

failure of the functions and the death of the animal.

2. Endocrine glands or glands of internal secretion are ductless glands, that is, they empty their secre­tions - chemical substances called hormones (from the Greek word «hormao» -excite) — directly into the blood stream. The hor­mones are carried through­out the organism with the blood and are delivered to various organs whose ac­tivity they either stimulate or depress. Neither single hormone nor endocrine gland acts wholly by itself at any time.

148 ♦ Learning to Understand a Medical Text

3. We know hormones to play a very important part in the organism. Many of them affect metabolism and the activity of the cardiovascular and other systems. A disturbance in the activity of the endocrine glands is accompanied by changes throughout the organism. These changes may be not only due to an increase in the function of a gland (hyper-function) but to a decrease (hypofunction).

4. A hyperfunctioning gland secretes a superfluous amount of hor­mones and a hypofunctioning gland secretes an insufficient amount. The amount of hormones produced by the endocrine glands in 24 hours measures fractions of a milligram.

5. The functions of all the endocrine glands are interconnected so that the glands make up a single system. Physiologists consider the hypophysis to be the chief gland of this system; they consider it to produce special substances which stimulate the activities of other endocrine glands.

6. The activities of endocrine glancjs are regulated by the nervous
system. It is known to exercise direct control over the endocrine glands
through the nerves and neurohumoral dpntrol, particularly through the
hypophysis. The hormones in their turn ^ffect the functions of the dif­
ferent parts of the nervous system... _ч ^ _0/

Упражнение 10. Прочтите и переведите текст А. Первый абзац переведите

письменно.. _N,

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Упражнение 11. Найдите в тексте ответы на следующие вопросы и зачи­тайте их.

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1. The functions of various endocrine glands are different, aren't they? What are they? 2. Is the disturbance in the activity of the endo­crine glands accompanied by any changes throughout the organism? 3. What is hyper- or hypofunction? 4. Why is hypophysis considered the chief gland of the endocrine system? 5. How do the endocrine and nervous systems interact?

Упражнение 12. Найдите ключевые предложения в каждой смысловой части текста А и выпишите их.

Упражнение 13. Найдите в каждом ряду слово, перевод которого дан в начале ряда.

1. деятельность — activator, activities, activation, activity, activist;

2. подобным образом, также — similarity, similar, simple, similarly;

3. таким образом, так — so, then, thus, actually; 4. влиять на... — to effect, to defect, to affect

Lesson 12 <► 149