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Endocrine System Flashcards

1
Q

What is the definition of a hormone?

A

A hormone is a class of chemical mediators that are usually organic, synthesized & secreted by specific cells or types of cells in very small amounts, transported by vascular systems, and received by a specific cell at a distant site from site of synthesis. AKA: target cells.

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2
Q

What are target cells?

A

Target cells have special proteins called receptors within the cell nucleus (on DNA) or on the surface of the cell membrane. They elicit a specific response in target cells.

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3
Q

What are receptors on target cells?

A

Receptors are protein or glycoprotein. They can be intracellular (on DNA) or extracellular (on the surface of the target cell) Help get a response in the target cell.

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4
Q

What are some substances that act like hormones, but are not always considered hormones?

A

Paracrines, Autocrines, Factors, and Neurotransmitters.

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5
Q

What is a Paracrine?

A

A paracrine doesn’t travel as far as a hormone. A histamine is an example. It acts on a neighboring cell.

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6
Q

What is an autocrine?

A

An autocrine acts on the cell that secretes them. An example is interleukin-2, which is made by helper T cells. A signal to yourself

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7
Q

What is a factor?

A

A factor is produced by many tissues & have local effects. An example is nerve growth factor.

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8
Q

What is a neurotransmitter?

A

A neurotransmitter? Act as hormones. Epinephrine, norepinephrine, nitric oxide (NO) are examples.

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9
Q

What is the difference between endocrine and exocrine glands?

A

Endocrine glands are ductless and generally secretes into blood, or in the body. Pituitary & gonads. Exocrine glands secrete outside the body and have ducts. Salivary & sweat

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10
Q

The pancreas has what type of glands?

A

The pancreas has both endocrine and exocrine glands.

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11
Q

What are acini glands?

A

Acini glands are exocrine structures of pancreas secretions, that have ducts, they secrete enzymes, they move ions to the small intestine.

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12
Q

What are the islets of Langerhans?

A

The islets of Langerhans are the endocrine portion of the pancreas. They secret insulin, glucagon into the bloodstream and they have no ducts.

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13
Q

What are some endocrine glands?

A

Some endocrine glands are pituitary, thyroid, parathyroids, adrenals, pineal, thymus; they have a main function of producing hormones.

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14
Q

What organs contain endocrine tissue but are not exclusively or primarily endocrine glands?

A

Pancreas, ovaries, testes, kidneys, stomach, liver, skin, heart and placenta.

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15
Q

What are the four chemical families of hormones?

A

Steroids, Amines, Peptides & Proteins and Eicosonoids.

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16
Q

What are steroids?

A

Steroids all have a cholesterol precursor, they have rings, a steroid nucleus, they are synthesized on SER, they are used as intracellular receptors. Ex: testosterone, estrogen, vitamin D, adrenal cortecoids, (steroids are lipids)

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17
Q

What is the difference between a protein and a peptide?

A

A protein is big, a peptide is small.

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18
Q

What are amines? (AKA biogenic amines)

A

Amines are simple, made amino acid precursor.

Ex: epinephrine & norepinephrine (adrenal medulla) dopamine histamine

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19
Q

What are peptides & proteins?

A

Peptides and proteins are chain molecules of amino acids. 3-200 AA’s, some have carbohydrates. If they’re in groups they are called glycoproteins. Protein: parathyroid hormone (PTH) Insulin. Peptide: Oxytocin (OT), Antidiuretic hormone (ADH). Transport or carrier protein needed to get them through. Steroid proteins needed to get to thyroid.

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20
Q

What are eicosanoids?

A

Eicosonoids are derived from arachidonic acid (fatty acid), often in local hormones. Ex: prostaglandins (have various paracrine functions, and are secreted by many tissues) and leukotrientes (affect WBC’s) looks like a centipede

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21
Q

Which hormones are soluble in lipids?

A

Steroids, thyroid hormones, and nitric oxide (NO) unsual because it’s a gas.

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22
Q

Which hormones are soluble in water?

A

Amine, peptide, protein and eicosanoids.

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23
Q

What is the biological half life?

A

How long it stays in the body-less hydrophobic

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24
Q

How are hormones transported through the blood? (able to be transported)

A

Because plasma is mostly water. Steroid & thyroid hormones (lipid soluble) travel by attaching to transport proteins, manufactured by the liver. Water soluble hormones don’t need transport proteins to travel through blood.

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25
What are the 3 functions of transport proteins?
They increase the solubility of hormone in blood plasma, slow loss of hormone through kidneys, (increase the biological halflife) provides ready reserve of hormone in blood. When free hormone molecule (w/out garrier globulin) goes into cell, more hormone is released by carrier protein to the blood.
26
How do hormones activate cellular activity?
They activate cellular activity by binding to an intracellular (inside) or extracellular (on cell membrane) Receptor
27
What happens if the cell receptor is inside (on DNA)the hormone molecule?
The hormone molecule passively enters the target cell, it activates intracellular receptor (generally in the nucleus), and it turns on (or off) genes.
28
What happens when you "turn on a gene"?
To turn on a gene means to make a protein.
29
What helps make lipids and carbs?
DNA allows for enzymes to make lipids or carbs.
30
How are lipids able to pass right through cells walls?
Because the cell wall is made up from lipids.
31
What system do peptide, protein and NO use?
They use a second messenger system, the receptor is on the surface of the cell.
32
What is the second messenger system?
More soluble in plasma, receptors are at the surface of target cells, hormone is 1st messenger, binds to binding site of receptor, receptor activates G-protein w/in cell membrane, g-protein activated AC inside cell, AC changes ATP to cyclic AMP (cAMP) cAMP is the 2nd messenger, cAMP is inactivated by phosphodiesterase, cAMP is a protein kinase (phosphorylates proteins), in turn, other proteins are made into kinases, leads to a cascade of events, leads to physiological activity of hormone (turning on & off, starting synthesis at the level of the organelles, delivering precursor of other metabolic activities...)
33
What stops the hormonal effect on the cell?
Phosphodiesterase breaks down cAMP, G proteins inactivate, hormonal-receptor complex in internalized and broken down and recycled by the cell. The internalized receptors lead to down-regulation of the target cell
34
What is down regulation?
The hormone is present in excess, number of receptors on outside of cell decreases, which makes a decrease in responsiveness. (normal state of affairs)
35
What is up regulation?
There is little or no hormone present, the number of receptors increase and cell becomes more sensitive to hormone. This may lead to degeneration of cellular mechanisms
36
What are some other second messenger substances other than cAMP?
Calcium ions (Ca++), cGMP (cyclic guanosine monophosphate), IP3 (inositol triphosphate), DAG (diacylglycerol) A particular hormone may even use more than one second messenger at its various target tissues
37
What are local effect hormones?
Paracrines, autocrines... have fast effects that last a short time, are deactivated by dilution by extracellular fluid.
38
What are circulating hormones?
Circulating hormones last minutes to hours, and are deactivated by liver and excreted by kidneys.
39
How are hormones secreted?
Hormones are secreted in either tonic or pulsatile patterns, and are usually in a negative feedback loop.
40
What are pulsatile patterns of hormone secretions?
Pulsatile patterns are not dependent on any hormonal feedback and hormones are released in intervals minutes to hours apart.
41
What are tonic patterns of hormone secretions?
I think inhibitory??
42
What is a hormonal interaction?
It's a target cell's responsiveness with the hormone's concentration, how up or down regulated the target cell is, and whether other hormones have affected the target cell previously.
43
What are the types of hormonal interaction?
Permissive, synergistic, antagonistic, & agonist
44
What is permissive hormonal interaction?
The effects of one hormone allow the second hormone to take effect. Ex: Thyroid hormones up-regulate beta receptors and increase the effects of epinephrine.
45
What is synergistic hormonal interaction?
Two hormones complement each others actions to create full effect. Ex: development of the oocyte in ovarian follicle is dependent upon both FSH and estrogens. Folic stimulating hormone. Ex: sex steroids and growth hormone increase bone growth at the epiphyseal plates.
46
What is antagonistic hormonal interaction?
One hormone's effect opposes the other. Ex: glucagon & insulin have opposite effects on blood glucose
47
What is agonist hormonal interaction?
A substance that mimics the hormones effect by using the same receptors on the target cell. May sometimes cause the target cell to malfunction. Pharmaceutical or autoimmune. Graves-inappropriate binding to receptors
48
What is the pituitary (AKA master gland) controlled by?
Hypothalamus. Many endocrine glands are controlled by the pituitary gland.
49
What does the hypothalamus control?
Many autonomic functions, and regulates hunger, thirst, satiety, aggression, sex drive, fear and rage. It receives input from the limbic system, reticular formation, cerebral cortex, and thalamus as well as from pain receptors and the retina.
50
What controls homeostasis?
The hypothalamus
51
What is the hypothalamic-hypothyseal axis?
Its a link between the brain & endocrine systems. The hypothalamus & pituitary regulate growth, development, metabolism & homeostasis. They include the hypothalamus, hypophysis, infundibulum, and the hypothalamic, hypophyseal portal system infundibulum. How a person behaves and feels on a basic level. links hypothalamus w/ pituitary.
52
What is the hypophyseal portal system?
blood flows from a capillary bed in the hypothalamus into a vein that passes through the infundibulum. The vessel then forms a second capillary bed that delivers the hormones from the hypothalamus to the anterior hypophysis.
53
What is the hypophysis?
It's the pituitary gland. It's divided into 3 parts. anterior, pars intermdeia and posterior.
54
What is in the anterior hypophysis?
adenohypophysis & glandular
55
What is in the pars intermedia of the hypophysis?
avascular zone
56
What is in the posterior hypopphysis?
neurohypophysis and neural tissue
57
What is the anterior hypophysis?
It's located in the sella turcica of the sphenoid bone, it produces human growth hormone, thryroid stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, prolactin, adrenocorticotrophic hormone & melanocyte stimulating hormone. Hormones are controlled by stimulating (tropin) or inhibiting (statin) hormones from the hypothalamus. (adenohypophysis)
58
What's the posterior hypophysis?
Neurohypophysis; it's located next to the anterior pituitary. (Smaller one) nerons in the hypothalamus make hormones that are stored in thte neurohypophysis: ADH and oxytocin
59
What are the five different type of cells in the anterior pituitary?
Somatotrophs, thyrothrophs, gonadotrophs, lactotrophs, & cortocotrophs.
60
Compared to the nervous system, the regulatory effects of the endocrine system are
Rapid to appear but short lived.
61
What are characteristics of the endocrine system?
Chemical messenger, travels a short distance. Effector tissues include virtually all tissues. Receptors are located on the plasma membrane or within the target cell.
62
What do tropic hormones accomplish?
They target other endocrine glands and stimulate their growth and secretion.
63
Why are steroids able to pass easily through a targets cell’s plasma membrane?
Because they are lipid soluble.
64
Permissiveness
When a small about of one hormone allows a second hormone to have its full effect.
65
Prostaglandin
A compound that is referred to as a tissue hormone.
66
Both the nervous system and endocrine system use chemicals to send messages.
True
67
For the nervous and endocrine systems to function, what needs to happen?
The receiving cells must have the correct type of receptors.
68
Receptors
Cells can have receptors for hormones or for neurotransmitters.
69
The neuroendocrine system
The nervous system and endocrine systems can be seen as one system.

Anatomy (8 decks)

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