Wednesday, May 17, 2006

What is Pituitary Gland?


One cannot imagine how a tiny gland located at the base of our brains controls the entire growth of the body. The erratic functioning of the pituitary gland can result in abnormal growth. Sandy Allan, a young woman in the U.S.A grew to an abnormal height of 7 ft and 7 inches because of the excessive secretion of the gland. Excess secretion can also happen after full body maturity. In such cases, only the hands, head and feet overgrow. On the contrary, lack of secretion of the gland can result in stunted growth, as it happened in the case of a Dutch woman, Pauline Musters, who could grow to 23 inches only, even after full maturity.

Courtesy: Indian Express

Bears - Where can they be found



  • Bears can be found in all parts of the world except Antarctica, Africa and Australia.
  • When a bear cub is born, it is about the size of a squirrel.
  • Bears have excellent hearing capacity. Like dogs, they can hear very high pitches - far beyond anything humans can.
  • Bears see in colour and have a pretty good vision.
  • Bears have an excellent sense of smell. Their noses are extremely sensitive and they send messages to each other through airborne scent.
  • Bears run fast. They can exceed speeds of 60 kmph faster than any professional human athlete!
  • Bears are very, very strong. They can overturn massive rocks and logs and dig dens on tough mountain slopes.

Taste Buds

Anyone who is extremely fond of sweets is called sweet tooth, though the teeth does not identify the taste. Rather, its the tongue that does this function. The tongue is the most important organ which is wholly muscular and without any bones inside. It moves tactfully between the teeth without getting trapped. The granular lumps on the surface of the toungue are the taste buds having hair like fibers at the top ends. They get activated when we chew our food. They send impulses to the taste center in the brain which identifies the taste and helps us relish our food. The taste buds do not get activated if the food is dry or solid. Only when moistened wit saliva they are identified. The nose works in conjunction with the tongue in identifying the taste and relishing the food. the sensory nerves in the nose too send impulses to the brain and helps enhancing the pleasure of tasting and relishing food.