Endocrine System Flashcards

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Questions and Answers

What does the prefix 'Endo-' mean?

  • Hormone
  • Out
  • In (correct)
  • Secretion

What does the prefix 'Exo-' mean?

  • Out (correct)
  • Secretion
  • In
  • Hormone

What does '-Crine' refer to?

Having to do with secretion

What does the term 'Endocrine' mean?

<p>Secreting within</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the endocrine system?

<p>System of organs that make and secrete hormones into the bloodstream</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are hormones?

<p>Molecules that travel within the bloodstream and have effects on organs/tissues that have a receptor for them</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are tropic hormones?

<p>Stimulate other glands to make and release hormones</p> Signup and view all the answers

What causes swelling in glands related to tropic hormones?

<p>Stimulation of glands to make and release hormones often causes a small amount of swelling within that gland</p> Signup and view all the answers

List the three ways an endocrine gland can be stimulated to release a hormone.

<p>Humoral stimulus, neural stimulus, hormonal stimulus</p> Signup and view all the answers

Hormone levels are controlled by _________

<p>Feedback loops</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a feedback loop?

<p>Type of pathway that is regulated by the presence of the hormone itself or of the product of hormone release</p> Signup and view all the answers

A negative feedback loop turns the pathway off.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

A positive feedback loop accelerates the pathway.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The _________ is the president of the endocrine system.

<p>Hypothalamus</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of the hypothalamus in the endocrine system?

<p>Monitors endocrine secretion in all three ways: influences anterior pituitary activity, produces hormones itself, oversees the adrenal medulla</p> Signup and view all the answers

The pituitary gland is housed within the ___________ of the sphenoid.

<p>Sella turcica</p> Signup and view all the answers

The anterior and posterior lobes of the pituitary are functionally distinct.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the subdivisions of the anterior pituitary?

<p>Pars tuberalis, pars intermedia, pars distalis</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of the pars tuberalis?

<p>Portion of the anterior pituitary that wraps around the stalk</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the pars intermedia represent?

<p>Little slice between the anterior and posterior bulges</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the pars distalis refer to?

<p>Anterior bulge</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the subdivisions of the posterior pituitary?

<p>Infundibular stalk, pars nervosa</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the infundibular stalk?

<p>The stalk itself</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the pars nervosa?

<p>The posterior bulge; the nervous part</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of the anterior pituitary?

<p>Controlled by the hypothalamus; hypothalamus makes tropic hormones that regulate the anterior pituitary</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the hypothalamo-hypophyseal portal system?

<p>Connects the hypothalamus to the anterior pituitary</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a portal system?

<p>Network of blood vessels that connects 2 structures directly, without the rest of the circulatory system</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the pathway of the hypothalamo-hypophyseal portal system?

<p>Hypothalamic neurons secrete tropic hormones into the portal system, hormones travel to anterior pituitary, and stimulate/inhibit hormone release</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) do?

<p>Stimulates release of thyroid hormone from thyroid gland</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is prolactin (PRL) responsible for?

<p>Regulates breast milk production and secretion of other hormones</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)?

<p>Stimulates adrenal cortex to produce hormones</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of growth hormone (GH)?

<p>Causes growth of bones, muscles, and most body cells</p> Signup and view all the answers

What hormones are produced by the anterior pituitary?

<p>FSH, LH, ACTH, TSH, PRL, GH</p> Signup and view all the answers

What do follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) influence?

<p>Reproductive functions by regulating hormone synthesis by gonads</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is pituitary dwarfism?

<p>Inadequate production of growth hormone leading to decreased stature</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the mechanism behind pituitary dwarfism?

<p>Osteoblasts/osteoclasts don't respond to GH, leading to shorter bones</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is pituitary gigantism?

<p>Excessive GH secretion in childhood leads to increased growth</p> Signup and view all the answers

Pituitary dwarfism and pituitary gigantism can occur throughout life.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is acromegaly?

<p>Excessive GH secretion in adulthood leading to increased growth of cartilage</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the posterior pituitary act as?

<p>Storage vessel for two hormones produced by the hypothalamus</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of antidiuretic hormone (ADH)?

<p>Regulates blood pressure by controlling water output</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does oxytocin regulate?

<p>Uterine contractions and milk ejection from the breast</p> Signup and view all the answers

ADH and oxytocin act via a _________ pathway.

<p>Neural</p> Signup and view all the answers

The posterior pituitary produces hormones itself.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of axon terminals in the posterior pituitary?

<p>Really an extension of the hypothalamus</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the release process for posterior pituitary hormones?

<p>Hypothalamic neurons synthesize oxytocin and ADH, stored in axon terminals until released</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of oxytocin?

<p>Influences parental bonding and modulates stress and anxiety</p> Signup and view all the answers

Both males and females express oxytocin receptors.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Oxytocin may be a treatment for _________ disorders, including __________.

<p>Social behavior; autism spectrum disorder</p> Signup and view all the answers

Oxytocin acts on a ________ feedback loop.

<p>Positive</p> Signup and view all the answers

What describes the oxytocin feedback loop during contractions?

<p>Pressure on cervix leads to oxytocin release, increasing contractions until baby is born</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the thyroid gland?

<p>Butterfly-shaped gland found in the neck, just inferior to the adam's apple</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the two hormones produced by the thyroid?

<p>Thyroid hormone and calcitonin</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the thyroid hormone (TH) maintain?

<p>Metabolism/body temperature</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of calcitonin?

<p>Regulates the amount of calcium in our blood by encouraging deposition into bone</p> Signup and view all the answers

What mechanism does calcitonin use?

<p>Thyroid monitors blood levels of calcium; too much calcium leads to calcitonin secretion</p> Signup and view all the answers

_______ plays a role in TH production.

<p>Iodine</p> Signup and view all the answers

Describe the structure of the thyroid gland.

<p>Isthmus= center part between left and right lobes</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the characteristic of thyroid histology?

<p>Lakes of pink fluid</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is colloid?

<p>Jelly-like precursor to thyroid hormone</p> Signup and view all the answers

What do follicular cells do?

<p>Make TH</p> Signup and view all the answers

What do parafollicular cells produce?

<p>Make calcitonin</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is hypothyroidism?

<p>Not enough TH; results in low metabolic rate, weight gain, lethargy, feeling cold</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are goiters?

<p>Thyroid cannot produce enough TH, but pituitary continues to make TSH; typically due to low iodine</p> Signup and view all the answers

What causes goiters?

<p>Excess signaling by TSH leads to target cell growth and thyroid enlargement</p> Signup and view all the answers

Describe thyroid hormone production and regulation.

<p>TRH from hypothalamus directs TSH from anterior pituitary, which stimulates TH from thyroid, inhibiting tropic hormones</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the problem with hypothyroidism?

<p>Not enough TH leads to no inhibition of tropic hormones</p> Signup and view all the answers

Where are the parathyroid glands located?

<p>On the posterior surface of the thyroid gland</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the two types of cells in the parathyroid?

<p>Parathyroid cells and oxyphil cells</p> Signup and view all the answers

What do parathyroid cells secrete?

<p>Parathyroid hormone (PTH)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What do oxyphil cells have?

<p>No known function</p> Signup and view all the answers

Describe the histology of the parathyroid.

<p>Parathyroid cells have very little cytoplasm; oxyphil cells have much more cytoplasm</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does parathyroid hormone (PTH) do?

<p>Encourages calcium to be harvested from the bone and released into the blood</p> Signup and view all the answers

Parathyroid hormone is made by __________ cells.

<p>Parathyroid</p> Signup and view all the answers

How is calcium released into the bloodstream?

<p>Osteoclasts leech away bone matrix, releasing calcium into blood</p> Signup and view all the answers

__________ facilitates the storage of calcium in bone while ________ encourages the release of calcium from bone.

<p>Calcitonin; parathyroid hormone</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the calcium regulation diagram reference?

<p>Refers to a salad with no cheese- 'hardly a salad at all'</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are adrenal glands?

<p>Pyramid-shaped glands that sit atop the kidneys</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the parts of the adrenal glands?

<p>Inner medulla and outer cortex</p> Signup and view all the answers

Each adrenal gland is essentially 2 glands in 1 chunk of tissue.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Describe adrenal gland histology.

<p>Glomerulosa- round; fasciculata- bundle of sticks; reticularis- net-like; medulla- round</p> Signup and view all the answers

The adrenal cortex makes more than 25 different lipid-based hormones called corticosteroids.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What do corticosteroids regulate?

<p>Different ones regulate various substances including minerals and glucose levels in blood</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the glomerulosa produce?

<p>Mineralocorticoids- regulate minerals/electrolytes</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the fasciculata produce?

<p>Glucocorticoids- regulate glucose levels in blood</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is cortisol responsible for?

<p>Stress response regulation</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the reticularis produce?

<p>Gonadocorticoids- androgens, male sex hormones</p> Signup and view all the answers

How can one remember corticosteroids?

<p>Glomerulosa: mineralocorticoids (SALT)= dinner; fasciculata: glucocorticoids (SUGAR)= dessert; reticularis: gonadocorticoids (SEX)= after</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is aldosterone?

<p>Main mineralocorticoid- regulates blood volume by controlling sodium in urine</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is cortisol's role during stress?

<p>Main glucocorticoid- responds to fasting, anxiety, and trauma, ensuring high blood glucose levels</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does cortisol do in terms of inflammation?

<p>Turns down the inflammatory response</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is DHEA?

<p>Main gonadocorticoid- precursor to estrogen and testosterone</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is Cushing syndrome?

<p>Excess levels of glucocorticoids, often due to corticosteroids or chronic stress</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are symptoms of Cushing's?

<p>Obesity, abnormal body fat pattern, moon face, hypertension, hair growth</p> Signup and view all the answers

What regulates the release of corticosteroids?

<p>ACTH</p> Signup and view all the answers

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Study Notes

Endocrine System Overview

  • Endocrine system consists of organs that manufacture and secrete hormones into the bloodstream.
  • Hormones are molecules that affect specific organs or tissues with matching receptors.
  • Tropic hormones stimulate other glands to release hormones, often causing slight gland swelling.

Stimulation of Endocrine Glands

  • Endocrine glands can release hormones in response to:
    • Humoral stimulus: changes in blood levels (e.g., low blood calcium).
    • Neural stimulus: direct stimulation by neurons.
    • Hormonal stimulus: influenced by other hormones.
  • Feedback loops regulate hormone levels, including negative feedback (turns off pathways) and positive feedback (accelerates pathways).

Role of the Hypothalamus

  • Hypothalamus acts as the "president" of the endocrine system.
  • Monitors and controls hormone secretion via:
    • Influencing the anterior pituitary (hormonal/tropic stimulus).
    • Producing hormones directly (humoral stimulus).
    • Overseeing secretion by the adrenal medulla (neural stimulus).

Pituitary Gland Structure

  • Located in the sella turcica of the sphenoid bone.
  • Anterior and posterior lobes have distinct functions.
  • Anterior pituitary subdivided into pars tuberalis, pars intermedia, and pars distalis, while the posterior comprises the infundibular stalk and pars nervosa.
  • Controlled by the hypothalamus through the hypothalamo-hypophyseal portal system, which connects the two areas without involving the general circulation.

Hormones of the Anterior Pituitary

  • Produces various hormones:
    • Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) regulates thyroid hormone release.
    • Prolactin (PRL) governs milk production and hormone secretion.
    • Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulates adrenal cortex.
    • Growth hormone (GH) promotes growth in bones and muscles.
    • Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) regulate reproductive functions.
  • Pituitary dwarfism: caused by inadequate GH production leading to decreased stature.
  • Pituitary gigantism: excessive GH secretion in childhood results in increased height.
  • Acromegaly: occurs in adulthood from continued GH secretion, causing enlarged soft tissues.

Posterior Pituitary Function

  • Serves as a storage site for hormones synthesized by the hypothalamus, specifically antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and oxytocin.
  • ADH regulates water retention in kidneys; oxytocin influences uterine contractions and milk ejection.

Thyroid Gland and Functions

  • Located in the neck, functioning mainly through:
    • Thyroid hormone (TH): regulates metabolism and body temperature.
    • Calcitonin: lowers blood calcium levels by promoting calcium deposition in bones.

Calcium Regulation

  • Parathyroid hormone (PTH), produced by parathyroid cells, increases blood calcium by stimulating osteoclasts to release calcium from bones.
  • Calcitonin works antagonistically to PTH.

Adrenal Glands Structure

  • Located atop the kidneys, comprising an outer cortex and inner medulla, each functioning independently.
  • The cortex produces corticosteroids, including:
    • Mineralocorticoids (e.g., aldosterone) that regulate electrolyte levels.
    • Glucocorticoids (e.g., cortisol) that influence glucose metabolism and stress response.
    • Gonadocorticoids (e.g., DHEA) which act as precursors for sex hormones.

Cushing Syndrome

  • Resulting from excess glucocorticoids, Cushing's syndrome presents with symptoms like obesity, hypertension, and abnormal body fat distribution.

Key Regulatory Hormones

  • ACTH: Hormone from the anterior pituitary regulating corticosteroid release from the adrenal cortex.

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