Endocrine System Flashcards
Endocrine system, otherwise known as…
The Hormone System
What are the components of this system?
endocrine organs, hormones, receptors, endocrine glands
Define hormones
Chemical messengers that travel in the blood from the site of release to their target organs
Endocrine means..
‘ductless’ because the secreted product is secreted directly into the blood rather than locally through a duct
List the functions of the endocrine system
metabolism growth rate puberty and reproduction response to stress calcium homeostasis body fluid composition and blood volume
What is ‘signalling’?
Signalling between cells the occur in the body, that are classified according to the distance over which the signal travels
What are the three main types of signalling?
nervous
endocrine
local
Give two examples of a steroid hormone
oestrogen and testosterone
Give two examples of a polypeptide hormone
insulin and glucagon
Give two examples of a amino acid hormone
adrenaline and thyroid hormone
What are the two types of receptors?
membrane and cytoplasm
What are membrane receptors?
specialised protein molecules that facilitate communication between the cell and the extracellular environment
What are cytoplasm receptors?
location facilitators that are based within the cell itself
What provides central control of endocrine glands?
Hypothalamic and pituitary
The pituitary gland is often referred to as the…
‘master gland’ in the endocrine system that produces a number of hormones
What does the hypothalamus do?
produces ‘releasing hormones’ which travel in a blood vessel to the ‘troph…’ cells of the anterior pituitary gland
What do the endocrine cells do?
the function of these cells is to produce hormones which stimulate endocrine glands and tissues elsewhere in the body
Endocrine cells produce…
thyroid stimulating hormone, growth hormone, LH, FSH, prolactin
What does the neuroendocrine cells from the hypothalamus release from the posterior pituitary?
ADH (antidiuretic hormone) and oxytocin
What does ADH hormone do?
regulates plasma osmolarity and release is stimulated by raised plasma osmolarity
What is plasma osmolality?
measurement of the body’s electrolyte water balance
Where are FSH and LH stimulated from?
anterior pituitary glands
What is the function of FSH?
stimulates production of sperm in the tests, stimulates secretion of oestrogen by ovaries, maturation of ovarian follicles, ovulation
What is the function of LH?
stimulates secretion of testosterone by the tests, stimulates secretion of progesterone by the corpus lutuem
