Endocrinology Flashcards
what are human endocrine diseases?
- Diabetes - up to 6% of the UK population. s
- Thyroid disorders - 5-6% of population in UK
- Polycystic ovary syndrome - 1.5% of females in the UK
- Hypogonadism- 1 in 4 men
- Osteoporosis in the over 50s - 1 in 4 women and > 1 in 8 men over the age of 50
what are the two endocrine organs?
- Primary endocrine organs whose primary function is the secretion of hormones
- Secondary endocrine organs which have a non-endocrine primary function
what are the primary endocrine organs?
- pineal gland
- hypothalmus
- pituitary gland
- thyroid gland
- parathyroid gland
- thymus
- adrenal gland
- pancreas (islet of langerhan)
- ovaries (women)
- testes (men)
what are the secondary endocrine organs?
- heart
- stomach
- liver
- kidney
- small intestine
- skin and fat
what does hypothalmus and pituitary produce?
produce many regulatory hormones which control the function of other endocrine glands
what does pineal gland produce?
produces melatonin and helps to regulate circadian rhythm –> during the day the hormones will intrinsically change.
where is the thyroid gland/
neck region just below the larynx. sitting above the trachea
what does the thyroid gland produce?
• Produces hormones T3 and T4 which help to regulate metabolism, it also produces the hormone calcitonin (involved with regulation of calcium metabolism in the body)
what does the parathyroid gland produce?
• Parathyroid gland produces parathyroid hormone (PTH) sits behind the thyroid gland, associated with the regulation of calcium, if your levels drop then you would release parathyroid hormones.
where is the thymus found?
lies close to the heart
what is the function of the thymus
- Critical for immune function because T-lymphocytes mature in the thymus part of the immune system.
- Produces he peptide hormone thymosin, which stimulates the activity of T cells & increases antibody production in bone-marrow
what is the most common thymus disease?
• The most common thymus disease is myasthenia gravis. It arises from the over-production of antibodies directed towards the nAChR at the neuromuscular junction. This causes the muscles to become weak and easily tired.
what is the function of the endocrine?
Endocrine function is to produce several important hormones: insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, ghrelin, pancreatic polypeptide. Only 1% of pancreas function is the endocrine function, the other 99% is digestion
what are the three broad groups of endocrine disorders?
- A gland does not produce enough of its hormones: hyposecretion
- A gland produces too much of its hormone, also referred to as hypersecretion
- Tumors develop in the endocrine glands. They may be malignant, or cancerous, but they may also be benign, or non-cancerous.
- Signals may be defective or the feedback mechanisms might not work which means the endocrine glands may not work properly.
what disorders are hypersecretion of endocrine glands?
- addisons disease
- hyperinsulinism
- cushings disease
- congenital adrenal hyperplasia
- graves disease
