<Tr> <Th> FMA </Th> <Td> 9668 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Anatomical terminology (edit on Wikidata) </Td> </Tr> <P> The endocrine system is the collection of glands of an organism that secrete hormones directly into the circulatory system to be carried towards distant target organs . The phenomenon of biochemical processes' serving to regulate distant tissues by means of secretions directly into the circulatory system is called endocrine signaling . The major endocrine glands include the pineal gland, pituitary gland, pancreas, ovaries, testes, thyroid gland, parathyroid gland, and adrenal glands . The endocrine system is in contrast to the exocrine system, which secretes its hormones to the outside of the body using ducts . The endocrine system is an information signal system like the nervous system, yet its effects and mechanism are classifiably different . The endocrine system's effects are slow to initiate, and prolonged in their response, lasting from a few hours up to weeks . The nervous system sends information very quickly, and responses are generally short lived . In vertebrates, the hypothalamus is the neural control center for all endocrine systems . The field of study dealing with the endocrine system and its disorders is endocrinology, a branch of internal medicine . Special features of endocrine glands are, in general, their ductless nature, their vascularity, and commonly the presence of intracellular vacuoles or granules that store their hormones . In contrast, exocrine glands, such as salivary glands, sweat glands, and glands within the gastrointestinal tract, tend to be much less vascular and have ducts or a hollow lumen . </P> <P> In addition to the specialized endocrine organs mentioned above, many other organs that are part of other body systems, such as bone, kidney, liver, heart and gonads, have secondary endocrine functions . For example, the kidney secretes endocrine hormones such as erythropoietin and renin . Hormones can consist of either amino acid complexes, steroids, eicosanoids, leukotrienes, or prostaglandins . </P>

Is the sweat gland part of the endocrine system