Our body comprises 21 organs, each with a functioning essential to our excellent well-being. When one or more organs react to a particular stimulus, that tissue becomes a target organ.
All our organs are targets. However, they will not react to all physical or chemical stimuli; the appropriate catalyst must be produced for the reaction to occur, similar to what happens with target cells. If you want to know exactly what a target organ is, keep reading, because in this FastlyHealarticle we explain it to you in detail.
Target organ concept
In endocrinology, the target organ refers to the organ that reacts to a specific stimulus, be it physical or chemical. Every day our body is subjected to different types of internal and external stimuli, but not all the organs that make up our body will react to them; only the tissue or tissues that you are prepared will do so correctly, allowing there to be a perfect connection between that stimulus and a determined reaction.
An excellent example of the relationship between target organ and stimulus is when a woman’s body secretes the follicle-stimulating hormone, or FSH, whose target organ is none other than the ovaries. When the body secretes this hormone and the ovaries receive it, they react to it in the usual way: initiating follicular maturation that will end with the release of the ovum, a process known as ovulation. FSH could not produce the same reaction in other tissue, for example, the kidney, but only the ovaries will react to it.
This term is not only applied in endocrinology but also other branches of medicine, for example:
- In radiotherapy, in the case of the organ that receives a therapeutic dose of irradiation for the treatment or elimination of a specific disease.
- In nuclear medicine, an organ is intended to receive the highest concentration of a radioactive diagnostic tracer.
This article is merely informative, at FastlyHeal .com we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.
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I am a Surgeon with a diploma in comprehensive ultrasound and surgical care residency, an area I am specializing in. During the exercise of my profession, I have realized the need for patients to know the diseases they suffer, and I can tell you that a large part of their complications is due to a lack of information. Being a health web writer allows me to transmit my experience, without borders, to all those readers eager for knowledge, educate them in the prevention of diseases and promote a healthy lifestyle.