British Sign Language Glossaries of Curriculum Terms

BSL Environmental Science Glossary - Target organ definition

Definition: The endocrine system has two kinds of organs involved - one produces hormones, and the other kind receives the hormones. The latter type that receives the hormones is called a target organ. Examples include the heart or the liver. They receive specific hormones from an endocrine gland - the gland must be the specific one that gives the correct hormone to the target organ. The gland releases the hormone through the blood to the target organ, and the hormone tells that organ what task it has to do. For example, the adrenal glands above the kidneys produce adrenaline which goes to the heart and 'tells' it to beat faster. So when a person is scared, the heart beats fast because the adrenaline from the adrenal glands has caused it to beat faster.