Hormones are organic substances that are secreted by plants and animals and that function in the regulation of physiological activities and in maintaining homeostasis. They carry out their functions by evoking responses from specific organs or tissues that are adapted to react to minute quantities of them. The classical view of hormones is that they are transmitted to their targets in the bloodstream after discharge from the glands that secrete them. This mode of discharge (directly into the bloodstream) is called endocrine secretion. …
