Question
Question: How does our body respond when adrenaline is secreted into the blood?...
How does our body respond when adrenaline is secreted into the blood?
Solution
Adrenaline which is also known as epinephrine is a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands which is responsible for the flight or fight response. It is also used as a medication to treat conditions like cardiac arrest, anaphylaxis, and superficial bleeding.
Complete answer:
Adrenaline is usually released into the bloodstream and has many key functions such as increasing blood pressure, increasing heart rate, enlargement of pupils, expanding the lung airways, redistributing blood into the muscles, and maximizing blood glucose levels primarily to the brain. Adrenaline is released only at the time of acute stress. When adrenaline is over secreted in the blood it can also lead to anxiety, weight loss, excessive sweating, and palpitations. The systemic effect of adrenaline includes vasoconstriction and vasodilation, triggers lipolysis and muscle contractions.
Note:
Adrenaline is usually secreted by adrenal glands but a small number of neurons on the medulla oblongata also secretes it and is a nonselective agonist of all the adrenergic receptors. As per the chemical structure adrenaline is one of a group of monoamines referred to as catecholamines. The main triggering factors for adrenaline release are stresses such as temperature variation, sound, physical threat, noise, bright light, and excitement. Usually, all these stimuli are processed by the central nervous system. It belongs to a group of medicines generally used for the treatment of serious shock because of severe allergic reaction or collapse. It is also used to restart a heart if it has stopped.