Your glands (From Salisbury Journal)

Your glands

2:48pm Tuesday 1st May 2007 in Your Health

Your glands are several specialised areas of the body which make hormones- which are chemical signals that regulate the way the body works.

The glands we have are the thyroid and parathyroid glands (which are located in the front of the neck), the pituitary (located at the base of the brain), the pancreas and adrenal glands (located in the abdomen), the ovaries (women)- (located in the pelvis), and the testes (men)-(located in the scrotum).

In the case of the thyroid gland the hormone it produces regulates the (metabolic) rate at which your body carries out its necessary functions.

Disorders of thyroid production are common and known as Hypo- (under production) and Hyper- (over production) -thyroidism.

Common symptoms of hypothyroidism include: tiredness, cold intolerance, muscle cramps and constipation.

Common symptoms of hyperthyroidism include: heat intolerance, weight loss (with increased appetite) and palpitations.

These conditions are confirmed when suspected by blood testing.

You can find out more about this and other thyroid problems which include swellings, lumps and cancer at: http://www.btf-thyroid.org/.