endocrine control mechanisms Flashcards
master controllers of the endocrine system
the hypothalamus and pituitary
the nervous system
- exerts point-to-point control through nerves
- control is electrical and fast
endocrine system
- transmits hormonal messages to essentially all cells in the body by secretion of specific chemicals into blood and extracellular fluid
- the body tissues that would be responsive to that hormone must Express a very specific receptor for that hormone.
how are the nervous and endocrine system connected
- connected and talk to each other to coordinate the activities of different body tissues
- neuroendocrine control
what is neuroendocrine control
information used by the endocrine system may be derived from both the external as well as the internal environment of the body
- this enables the body to adapt and respond to changes in temperature, stress, food, supply, day length etc
largest endocrine gland
- largest endocrine gland - adipose tissue
- secretes many different hormones
examples of human endocrine glands
- pineal
- hypothalamus
- pituitary
- thyroid
- parathyroids
- thymus
- adrenals
- pancreas
- ovary and testes
what are hormones
chemical messengers involved in cell communication
hormone communication through the endocrine communication system
- where a hormone-secreting cell releases its chemical messenger into blood vessels, which is then circulated throughout the body and then it is picked up by a target cell that has the specific receptor for that hormone
hormone communication - autocrine chemical communication
hormones can act on the cell from which it was secreted from
hormone communication - paracrine
rather than being transmitted through the blood vessels, the hormone will bind to a target cell to which it is adjacent or in very close proximity
hormone communication - neuroendocrine system
this is where a neuronal cell is capable of producing a hormone, which will then be released from its axon at the nerve terminal into the bloodstream and then it can be circulated
hormone communication - neurotransmitter
when a neuron will secrete a chemical messenger which binds to another neuron
- sometimes those can be hormones and would be also secreted into the bloodstream or working on adjacent cells
the axes - effect of an environmental influence
e.g. a change in the temperature in the environment
- this would be picked up by the hypothalamus, which will send a signal via neuroendocrine methods to the anterior pituitary gland
- the anterior pituitary gland will then release another chemical messenger into the blood
- will be non-tropic or tropic and cause an action on the body
non tropic chemical messenger
has a direct action on tissues in the body
tropic chemical messenger
that signal goes to another endocrine gland and then the endocrine gland will produce another hormone which then has an action on the body
hypothalamus function and anatomy
- located just below the thalamus and above the brainstem
- important for the control of basic functions in the body like hunger, thirst, sleep
- also important for the control of many different hormones
pituitary gland (hypophysis)
- the size of a pea and weighs about 0.5g
- sits in a small bony cavity (sphenoid bone), below the hypothalamus - sella turcica
- dangles down from the hypothalamus and is connected to the hypothalamus by the infundibulum
pituitary tumour
If you get a pituitary tumour it would not be able to grow downwards because of the sphenoid bone and instead it would push upwards into the space above and would press on the optic nerve.
○ So one of the first symptoms that you get is changes to the visual field because of the pressure on the optic nerve.
pituitary gland lobes
anterior and posterior pituitary gland
- These have completely different roles in the body and they don’t have any direct neuronal connections.
- They’re quite separate. It just happens that they’re joined together in this one gland
hypothalamus connection to the anterior pituitary
- parvocellular neurons in the hypothalamus produce the releasing hormones into the portal blood system
- they will then be transported down long portal vessels to the anterior pituitary to act on cells
- then those cells in the anterior pituitary will produce a different hormone, which will then be secreted to the rest of the body.
parvocellular neurons
neurons which produce and secrete the regulatory hormones, which will control cells in the anterior pituitary gland.
hypothalamus connection to the posterior pituitary gland
magnocellular neurons in the hypothalamus have long axons which extend down into the posterior pituitary lobe
- the posterior pituitary hormones are produced in the hypothalamus and then they’re transported down these long axons and are stored at the nerve terminals in the posterior pituitary.
- then when there’s a stimulus to the hypothalamus that will cause the release of those hormones from the ends of the axons into the blood supply of the posterior pituitary gland.