Page 14 - Winter2017

The tissues The process of maintaining constancy lungs, intestines, kidneys, liver, pancreas (and

affected by amidst change is called homeostasis. Ho- their less publicized ancillary agents such as the
meostasis is coordinated most obviously via gallbladder, spleen, blood vessels, etc.)—and the
the endocrine the neurotransmitters of the nervous system skeletal muscles.
axis comprise and the hormones of the endocrine axis. The The secretions or hormones from these
all those of endocrine axis has correspondences with the glands thus have an effect on the entire body
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chakras of Eastern spiritual disciplines but and its balance amidst constant input and re-
the body, modern Western medicine has simplified this sponse—thus maintaining homeostasis. It is
in a semi- to the HPA (hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal) an intricate and delicate system of feedback
hierarchical Axis. The HPA axis continually assesses what’s loops and checks and balances, affecting all the
happening in the body, gives feedback, and calls cells and tissues of the body, whose operation
system. for appropriate action, using hormones as its and processes it maintains both day to day and

messenger molecules. across the years.
Hormones are the messenger molecules that The entirety of the endocrine system com-
coordinate and direct immediate adjustments, prises the pineal gland, the hypothalamus, the
diurnal rhythms and the longer transitions pituitary, the thyroid and parathyroid glands,
across the stages of life: infancy, childhood, the thymus, the pancreas, the adrenal glands
adolescence, maturity, senescence and death. and the gonads—ovaries in women, testes in
They work in coordination with neurotransmit- men. In this essay, the focus will be on the
ters. hypothalamus and the pituitary, and their key
The key difference between hormones and agents, the thyroid and adrenal glands, and to a
neurotransmitters is that hormones are gener- lesser extent, the gonads or reproductive organs.
ated by specific glands. The hormones are
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conveyed through the bloodstream on protein HOMEOSTASIS
carrier molecules to their target organs, where Occupational therapist Maude LeRoux
they are received by specific cellular receptors. describes beautifully in her book Our Greatest
Neurotransmitters travel essentially as Allies the fundamental capacities exhibited by
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electrical impulses directly from neurons (nerve a being newly arrived in this world:
cells) to other neurons or to muscle cells, usu-
ally a shorter distance, moving instantaneously, • Vestibular balance—a sense of uprightness
much more rapidly than hormones, and without or verticality
particular (or obvious) rhythms. • A way to modulate the amount of sensory
input allowed in
THE HPA HIERARCHY • A way to process what stimuli are allowed
The HPA endocrine axis is based on the beyond one’s outer boundaries.
components that currently get the most at-
tention in Western medicine, and addresses These are facets of homeostasis, and remind
interactions among the hypothalamus, pituitary us that when someone doesn’t respond as we
and adrenal glands. The tissues affected by the might expect, that person’s homeostatic mecha-
endocrine axis comprise all those of the body, nisms, especially the HPA axis, are probably
in a semi-hierarchical system. In this system, fully occupied and don’t have room for anything
the “general” (the hypothalamus) perceives, more. In other words, it’s not malice; it’s simply
oversees and assesses everything going on in a self-preserving physiological response. Often
the body, then informs its “officer lieutenants” a homeostatic effort by the body is considered
in the pituitary gland. The “officers” in the pi- a disease or illness, which allopathic medicine
tuitary gland inform the “sergeants” (the target commonly seeks to obstruct or eliminate. A
organs), who then enlist the “troops” (particular more holistic perspective views imbalances
biochemical processes) in the relevant tissues such as fever as the body’s efforts to “burn out”
or organs in the body. The enlisted or activated some potentially toxic or extraneous substance.
tissues include the visceral organs—heart, Similarly, digestive upsets—vomiting or diar-

14 Wise Traditions WINTER 2017