Endocrinology Anatomy Flashcards
What is the anatomical position of the adrenal glands?
Superiomedially between the superior pole of the kidney and the crus of the diaphragm
What is the embryological origin of the cortex?
Mesoderm (similar to the gonads)
What is the embryological origin of the medulla?
Ectoderm (similar to the SNS)
What does the adrenal cortex secrete?
Steroid hormones
Mineralocorticoids (aldosterone)- electrolyte and fluid homeostasis
Glucocorticoids (cortisol) - CHO, protein, and lipid metabolism
Sex hormones - testosterone and oestrogen
What does the adrenal medulla secrete?
Catecholamines: (nor)adrenaline
What regulates glucocorticoid secretion?
Anterior pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
What regulates mineralocorticoid secretion?
RAAS and [K]plasma
What regulates secretion of medullary catecholamines?
SNS
Chromaffin cells
Thorcacic splanchnic nerves
Coeliac Plexus
What the the two layers of the adrenal gland?
Outer cortex
Inner Medulla
What invests the adrenal gland?
Dense fibrous capsule
What are the 3 layers of the adrenal cortex and what are their functions?
Remember GFR
- Zona Glomerulosa: large amounts of sER and mito; secretes mineralcorticoid hormones (aldosterone) controlled by RAAS and [K]plasma, RAAS is regulated by the macula densa
- Zona Fasciculate: middle and broadest; cytoplasm rich in sER, mito, and lipids; secretes glucocorticoids (cortisol); Also secretes sex hormones
Zona Reticularis: inner most; fewer lipid droplets; secretes small quantities of androgens and glucocorticoids
How is aldosterone release triggered?
- Decreased arterial pressure
- Decreased GFR
- Decreased macula densa NaCl
- Increased renin production
- RAAS pathway
Where, in the kidney, does aldosterone act on?
Renal tubules
Increases Na+ and H2O retention
In turn increasing ECF volume and arterial BP
Can aldosterone secretion be triggered by ACTH?
No
What controls cortisol secretion?
Hypothalamus (CRH) –> Anterior Pituitary (ACTH) –> Adrenal Cortex (Cortisol)
Hypothalamus stimulus: stress, time of day, illness
What is the medulla composed of?
Closely packed clusters of secretory cells
What does the medulla secrete?
Catecholamines: (nor)adrenaline
What forms the endocrine pancreas?
Islets of Langerhans
Where are the islet of Langerhans found?
Scattered throughout the exocrine glandular tissue
Vary in size
MOST NUMEROUS in tail of pancreas
What cells comprise the endocrine pancreas?
B-cells (70%) - secrete insulin in response to hyperglycaemia –> Promotes glucose uptake by GLUT4
A-cells (25%) - secretes glucagon –> respond to hypoglycaemia
D-cells (4%) - secrete somatostatin –> GI Function + inhibit alpha and beta-secretion
PP-cells (1%) - secrete polypeptide hormone
What kind of hormone is insulin?
Peptide
Where is insulin synthesised?
Describe the pathway
- b-cells of pancreas
- at eER as preproinsulin
- preproinsulin is cleaved to form proinsulin
- proinsulin is then cleaved at the Golgi to form insulin
- insulin is then packages in vesicles and remains in the cytoplasm for secretion
Where does the pancreas lie?
Retroperitoneal
Transversely across the posterior abdominal wall
Posterior to the stomach
Between the duodenum on the right and the spleen on the left
What lies on the anterior margin of the pancreas?
Root of the transverse mesocolon
Where does the exocrine secretions of the pancreas come from?
Pancreatic juice from acinar cells, which enters the duodenum
Where is the pancreas positioned relative to the duodenum
Head of pancreas is embraced by the C-shaped curve of duodenum
How is the uncinate process of the pancreas positioned?
Inferior to the head of the pancreas, extends medially to the left, posterior to the SMA/V
What structure do the pancreatic and common bile ducts form? and where?
Hepatopancreatic amuplla (of Vatar), which opens into the descending duodenum at the greater dudenal papilla (8-10cm from pylorus)
What structure controls secretions of the pancreas and gall bladder?
Sphincter of Oddi
CCK cause it to relax (and cause gallballder to contract)
Where do the pancreatic arteries branch of?
Splenic artery
Main: Greater pancreatic artery
What is the pancreatic venous drainage?
Pancreatic veins are tributaries of the splenic and SM parts of the hepatic portal vein
Most empty into the splenic vein
What is the functional unit of the exocrine pancreas
Pancreatic acini
What type of epithelium lines the exocrine pancreatic ducts?
Simple cuboidal
Larger ducts: stratified cuboidal
What do the cells in the pancreatic duct secrete?
Water and HCO3-
How many layers of fascia and fat are they kidneys surrounded by? And name them.
Perinephric fat (capsule) - surround the kidneys and adrenal glands and is continuous with the renal sinus, enclosed by a membranous layer
External to the fascia is the paranephric fat
Where are the adrenal glands located?
Between the superiomedial aspects of the kidneys and the diaphragmatic crura, where they are surrounded by connective tissue containing perinephric fat
Of what type of tissue is the capsule of the adrenal glands formed?
Fibrous connective tissue
What tissue lies outside the capsule?
Loose connective tissue containing white fat (unilocular adipose tissue)
It’s called perinephric fat
The cells forming the zona fasciculate appear pale in H&E stained section and contained empty, small rounded profiles. What is an alternative name for these cells?
Spongiocytes
A spongiocyte is a cell in the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex containing lipid droplets that show pronounced vacuolization
What is the diameter of a RBC?
7-8micrometers
What receives blood first the medulla or the cortex?
The medulla receives blood first from the capillaries and the sinusoids of the adrenal cortex second from arterioles passing from the capsule to the medulla
Where does the pancreas lie?
Retroperitoneal in the “stomach bed”
What type of capillaries are in the Islets of Langerhans
Fenestrated
What is the GTT important for?
Diagnosing of disorders of CHO metabolism
What are the main target tissues for insulin?
Muscle and adipose tissue
Blood glucose will be elevated after ingestion of a fixed dose of glucose.
After how long would the [glucose]blood take to return to normal?
What about a diabetic person?
Within 2 hours
Diabetic: significantly longer
What enzyme is used in ExacTech Blood Glucose Monitoring systems?
Glucose oxidase
What happens to glucose as it is filtered by the kidney?
Reabsorbed by SGLT2 (90%) at the PCT and SGLT1 (10% at the descending loop of Henle at the apical lumen, and into the blood via GLUT2 at the basolateral surfaces.
What is the normal concentration of glucose in the urine?
0-0.8mmol/L
What is the glucose reabsorption threshold? And what happens if this is exceeded?
10.0mmol/L
Glucosurea
What hormones/neurotransmitters increase by the procedure of taking blood?
Stress hormones
GH, adrenaline(nor), and cortisol
ACh
Which tissues metabolise glucose and what do they form?
Liver: glycogen
Muscle: glycogen
Adipose: triglycerides
How would the metabolism of glucose change as your body glucose concentration returns to resting values?
Increase glycogen synthesis
Decreased blood glucose levels
What tissues are totally dependent on glucose as an energy source? And why?
Brain - due to blood-brain barrier
RBCs - don’t have mitochondria for oxidation and energy production from alternative substrates
Testes - blood testis barrier