Gland Endocrine glands secrete substances that circulate through the blood stream. The glands secrete their products through basal lamina into the blood stream. Basil lamina typically can be seen a layer around the glands to which a million maybe more tiny blood vessels are attached. These glands often secrete hormones which play an important role in maintaining homeostasis. The pineal gland, thymus gland, pituitary gland, thyroid gland, and the two adrenal glands are all endocrine glands. Exocrine glands secrete their products through a duct onto an outer surface of the body, such as the skin or the gastrointestinal tract. Secretion is
Composition of the human body mass of the human body is made up of six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Only about 0.85% is composed of another five elements: potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium. All 11 are necessary for life. The remaining elements are trace elements, of which more than a dozen are thought on the basis of good evidence to be necessary for life. All of the mass of the trace elements put together (less than 10 grams for a human body) do not add up to the body mass of magnesium, the least common of the 11 non-trace elements.