My name is Calcium Man the Parathyroid Gland Cell.
I was named Calcium Man by my friends who feel that Calcium Man is the most suitable name of a cell from Calcium controlling Parathyroid gland of the human body.
The only cells in the early human embryo are precursor cells or stem cells that are nudged into becoming specialized bone, nerve, internal organ or Parathyroid gland by the action of genes and the growth-and-development molecules produced by genes.
It may be surprising to learn that we Parathyroid gland cells have a developmental relationship with many others tissues such as breast and prostate gland but this shows the built-in potential of stem cells to grow into a variety of specialized forms.
We Parathyroid gland cells do not just spring into existence from embryo stem cells.
The path of our development begins in a group of progenitor stem cells that are nudged into different directions to become specialized cells of many different tissues and organs including the Parathyroid gland.
We Parathyroid glands are four tiny glands located at the back of the Thyroid glands in humans and produce the parathyroid hormone.
Each of us is the size of a grain of rice and weighs approximately 30 milligrams.
My Parathyroid hormones control the amount of calcium in the blood and within the bones so that the nervous and muscular systems can function properly.
If the calcium level drops in the blood, we parathyroid gland cells will sense it and release our parathyroid hormone which will then goes to the cells of the bone to take the calcium out and place it in the blood stream so that the calcium level becomes normal again
Our Parathyroid hormone causes:
The release of calcium from bones into the blood stream.
The calcium to be taken up into the blood from the intestine.
The kidneys from excreting (getting rid of) calcium in the urine.
The kidneys to excrete phosphate in the urine.
The increase of blood levels of magnesium.
We parathyroid glands originate from the interaction of neural crest mesenchyme and third and fourth branchial pouch endoderm.
When one of my parathyroid glands go bad and makes too much hormone, the excess hormone goes to the bones and takes calcium out of the bones and puts it in the blood.
It is the high calcium in the blood that makes our human host feel bad
As in all cell deaths, death of my Parathyroid gland cell is by apoptosis or necrosis.
The data showed that mechanisms of cell death other than necrosis occur in my parathyroid gland.
My growth continues at a gain of 2.5 -3.0 mg per year for the first 2 years.
It then slows down to 30 years when the adult weight of my individual parathyroid gland of 30mgs is achieved.
After 30 years of age there is a decrease in the growth of the gland every year.
There was a 5% cell death for each year of my parathyroid gland which means a loss of 40% of my cells in 10 years.
Apoptosis of my parathyroid cells as usual helps to regenerate cells that are lost.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Chapter 1 Story of Calcium Man
Chapter 2 Life Cycle of Parathyroid Gland
Chapter 3 Formation of a Parathyroid Gland
Chapter 4 Death of a Parathyroid Gland
Chapter 5 Hyperparathyroidism
Epilogue