Endocrinology - Lecture 4 Flashcards
What is Addison’s Disease?
hypofunction of the adrenal cortex
Addison’s Disease is characterized by the failure of the adrenal cortex to produce what kind of hormones?
adrenocortical hormones
What can happen to the adrenal gland in Addison’s Disease?
it can be destructed
What can cause Addison’s Disease?
autoimmune attacks to the adrenal glands or tuberculosis
What is Cushing’s Disease?
hyperfunction of the adrenal cortex
Cushing’s Disease is the excessive production of what 2 steroids?
glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids
What causes Cushing’s Disease?
increased circulating levels of ACTH or adrenal tumour
What is Cushing’s Disease characterized by?
hyperplasia of an adrenal cortex or pituitary
Where is the pancreas located?
behind the stomach
99% of the pancreas is ___ and secretes the digestive enzymes.
exocrine
What are the small endocrine structures of the pancreas called?
islets of Langerhans
What are 60% of the cells of the islets of Langerhans known as?
beta-cells
What do beta-cells synthesize?
insulin
What are the 25% of the cells of islets of Langerhans known as?
alpha-cells
What do alpha-cells synthesize?
glucagon
What are insulin and glucagon?
small protein hormones and both control glucose concentration in the blood
Which is more important: insulin or glucose?
insulin
Insulin is the only hormone that acts primarily to…
decrease blood glucose
What is the fasting level of glucose in the blood?
80mg/100mL
Why does glucose need to be transported?
because it cannot diffuse very readily into most cells
Where does glucose get transported to? (3)
- in the liver and muscle
- in the adipose tissue
- in many cells of the body
Where is glucose converted into glycogen?
in the liver and muscle cells
Where is glucose converted into fat and stored for later use?
in adipose tissue
What is the function of the insulin receptor?
it stimulates the insertion of glucose transport proteins stored in cytoplasm into plasma membrane
Do insulin receptors increase or decrease glucose uptake?
increase glucose uptake
When does insulin deficiency happen?
when beta-cells are destroyed
What kind of disease does insulin deficiency cause?
diabetes mellitus
What is diabetes mellitus?
when most tissues cannot take up glucose so it accumulates in the circulation
Why does insulin deficiency happen even if there is no glucose in the diet?
because of increased gluconeogenesis
What increases when there is insulin deficiency?
lipolysis