When Does the Body Produce Adrenalin?
When Does the Body Produce Adrenalin? A person’s body produces Epinephrine, also known as adrenalin or adrenaline, when he is angry, frightened or challenged, or when he needs to be functioning at maximum efficiency to meet some sort of stress. Adrenalin is a hormone, neurotransmitter and medication, a substance which acts upon tissues and organs.
It is secreted in the adrenal glands, which lie like a pair of pyramid-shaped caps, one on top of each kidney. Each gland has two parts, the outer shell, or cortex, and the inner core, or medulla. The adrenal hormones come from the medulla and are released into the bloodstream. They stimulate the liver both to release its sugar and to speed up its manufacture for muscular action.
They also contract blood vessels, diverting blood from the skin and raising the pressure at which it is pumped through the brain and lungs and muscles. The heart and pulse quicken, the breathing speeds up, the body heat rises and muscular fatigue is postponed. At the same time the ability of the blood to coagulate in the event of the person being wounded is increased. This series of defense reactions occurs almost immediately.
Adrenalin released by the glands is reinforced by more hormones produced at the sympathetic nerve ends. A hormone produced in the brain, called serotonin, stimulates the transmission of nerve impulses. It plays an important role in the fight-or-flight response by increasing blood flow to muscles, output of the heart, pupil dilation, and blood sugar, it does this by its effects on alpha and beta receptors. It is found in many animals and someone cell organisms.
Extracts of the adrenal gland were first obtained by Polish physiologist Napoleon Cybulski in 1895. These extracts, which he called nadnerczyna, contained adrenaline and other catecholamines. American ophthalmologist William H. Bates discovered adrenaline’s usage for eye surgeries prior to 20 April 1896.
Japanese chemist Jokichi Takamine and his assistant Keizo Uenaka independently discovered adrenaline in 1900. In 1901, Takamine successfully isolated and purified the hormone from the adrenal glands of sheep and oxen. Adrenaline was first synthesized in the laboratory by Friedrich Stolz and Henry Drysdale Dakin, independently, in 1904.
As a medication it is used to treat a number of conditions, including anaphylaxis, cardiac arrest, and superficial bleeding. Inhaled epinephrine may be used to improve the symptoms of croup. It may also be used for asthma when other treatments are not effective. It is given intravenously, by injection into a muscle, by inhalation, or by injection just under the skin.
Common side effects include shakiness, anxiety, and sweating. A fast heart rate and high blood pressure may occur. Occasionally it may result in an abnormal heart rhythm. While the safety of its use during pregnancy and breastfeeding is unclear, the benefits to the mother must be taken into account.