B11 Flashcards
What are examples of hormones?
Adrenaline, insulin, growth hormone and sex hormones.
What is the endocrine system?
It is made up of glands, secreting hormones into the bloodstream, which carries it to its target organ producing an effect and triggering a response in the cell.
What is the most powerful endocrine gland and what does it do?
The pituitary gland, found in the brain, which excretes many hormones into the body, in response to changes in body conditions. Examples include ADH and growth hormone.
What does the thyroid do?
Controls the metabolic rate of the body.
What does the pancreas do?
Controls the levels of glucose in the blood.
What does the adrenal gland do?
Prepares the body for stress, adrenaline.
What do the ovaries do?
Controls the development of the female secondary sexual characteristics and is involved in the menstrual cycle.
What do the testes do?
Controls the development of the male secondary sexual characteristics and is involved in the production of sperm.
What is insulin?
It is extracted by the pancreas, controlling the blood glucose concentration with the hormone insulin. if it rises, your pancreas produces insulin allowing glucose to move from the blood into cells. It further stores glycogen in your liver and muscles and can be converted back into glucose when it is needed.
What is glucagon?
If the blood glucose concentration falls below the ideal range, the pancreas secretes another hormone called glucagon, letting your liver break down glycogen, converting it to glucose, releasing it back into your blood.
What happens if your glycogen stores are full?
Any excess glucose is transferred into lipids and stored, so you get obese.
What is type 1 diabetes?
This is when your pancreas doesn’t make enough or any insulin, so your blood glucose concentration is not controlled.
What is type 2 diabetes?
This is when you get older, usually linking to obesity and lack of exercise. However it can also be genetical.
How can you treat type 1 diabetes?
You need replacement insulin before meals, as an injection into your blood. This allows your glucose to be taken into the body and converted to glycogen in the liver, stopping the concentration to become too high.
How may type 1 diabetes be cured?
This may be by transplanting pancreases, however this is risky and not many donors are available. This may also be transplanting the pancreatic cells that make insulin from dead or alive donors. However this has not been fully successful yet.
