Hormonal coordination in humans

Question 1

Where is each adrenal gland stationed? What do they control?

Answer 1

Above each kidney, they control the ‘flight or fight’ response by producing adrenaline

Question 2

What is the hypothalamus?

Answer 2

It is part of the brain that receives signals from the receptors.

Question 3

What does the thyroid gland do?

Answer 3

releases thyroxine, which controls our heart rate, metabolism and temperature.

Question 4

Where is the pituitary gland stationed and what are its main purposes?

Answer 4

This is the main endocrine gland stationed in the brain and is linked to the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland releases hormones when there are changes to the hypothalamus.

Question 5

What does the pancreas produce to regulate the blood glucose levels?

Answer 5

Insulin and glucagon

Question 6

What do the ovaries do in terms of the menstrual cycle?

Answer 6

They produce oestrogen which controls puberty and is one of the main regulators which control the menstrual cycle
.

Question 7

What do the testes produce (male only)?

Answer 7

They produce testosterone which controls puberty and sperm production.

Question 8

What is the difference between the endocrine system and the central nervous system?

Answer 8

The endocrine system controls environmental changes using chemical messengers while the central nervous system uses electrical impulses.

Question 9

What are the different effects of the endocrine system vs the central nervous system (CNS)?

Answer 9

the endocrine system can act on larger areas of the body, they carry chemical signals which are carried by the blood and the effects can be long lasting, however the CNS carries electrical impulses through neurons, they are in very precise areas of the body and the response is very short.

Question 10

What is thyroxine responsible for in young animals?

Answer 10

Maintaining the growth and brain development.

Question 11

What does the body do when there is too much thyroxine or too little thyroxine in the blood?

Answer 11

when there is too much, the body decreases the production of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), when there is too little production is increased.

Question 12

What does adrenaline do to your lungs?

Answer 12

It enlarges the air passageways of the lungs and alters metabolism in order to boost the glucose and oxygen delivery to the brain and lungs.

Question 13

What happens to our cells when there is too little or too much oxygen?

Answer 13

When there is too little oxygen, the cells cannot respire (glucose is need for respiration in every living cell) which means the call cannot produce the amount of energy its supposed to. When there is too much oxygen it can negatively impact osmosis by affecting the concentration gradients.

Question 14

What is the body’s response to too much glucose?

Answer 14

Insulin and glucagon is released to bring it back to its normal level. The liver detects insulin or glucagon, it then converts the excess glucose into glycogen. This process is continued until the pancreas detects a normal amount of glucose.

Question 15

What’s the body’s response to too little glucose?

Answer 15

The pancreas releases glucagon which is then detected by the liver; the glucagon causes the stored glycogen to turn into glucose.

Question 16

How does Type 1 & 2 diabetes affect the insulin in the body?

Answer 16

People with type 1 diabetes don’t produce enough insulin, people with type 2 diabetes produce insulin but the body no longer responds to it.

Question 17

What can be done to help treat type 1 diabetes?

Answer 17

Sufferers of type 1 diabetes can inject insulin when glucose levels get too high, they also exercise and manage their diet to keep glucose levels as steady as possible.

Question 18

What can be done to treat type 2 diabetes?

Answer 18

people can only do exercise and manage their diet to keep glucose levels steady. it usually comes from old age or being overweight.

Question 19

What happens to males and females during puberty?

Answer 19

Females, pubic hair and underarm growth, breasts enlarge as oestrogen is produced in higher quantities. Males, pubic hair, underarm and facial hair growth, voice deepens. This happens as the testes produce more testosterone this stimulates sperm production.

Question 20

What are the four hormones that control the menstrual cycle?

Answer 20

Luteinising Hormone (LH)
Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)
Oestrogen
Progesterone

Question 21

What does FSH do and what is is released from?

Answer 21

It is released from the pituitary gland and causes the egg in the ovary to mature, it also stimulates the production of oestrogen.

Question 22

Where is oestrogen produced and what does it do?

Answer 22

It is produced by the ovaries and causes the development of the thick, spongy uterus lining, it also stimulates the production of LH, and stops the production of FSH.

Question 23

What produces Luteinising Hormone (LH) and what does it do?

Answer 23

This is produced by the pituitary gland and stimulates the release of the mature egg on day 14, this is called ovulation.

Question 24

What produces progesterone and when, what does this cause?

Answer 24

progesterone maintains the uterus lining from days 14-28 and is produced after the by the ovaries after ovulation.

Question 25

What happens when progesterone levels drop?

Answer 25

This causes the uterus lining to break down marking day 1 of the next menstrual cycle. It also stops the production of FSH and LH

Question 26

What happens on days 1-4 of the menstrual cycle?

Answer 26

The uterus lining breaks down resulting in a ‘period’

Question 27

What happens on days 4-14 of the menstrual cycle?

Answer 27

The uterus lining is built back up again into a thick spongy layer full of blood vessels.

Question 28

What happens on day 14 of the menstrual cycle?

Answer 28

The mature egg is released by one of the ovaries

Question 29

What happens on days 15-28 of the menstrual cycle?

Answer 29

The maintained uterus lining is now ready for a fertilised egg, if no fertilised egg is attached the uterus lining breaks down again and restarts the cycle.

Question 30

What can fertility drugs do to help increase fertility?

Answer 30

They boost the levels of FSH and LH which can cause an egg to be released in the ovaries.

Question 31

What is In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF)?

Answer 31

When FSH and LH are given to stimulate the growth of lots of eggs, before being fertilised in a dish in qa laboratory using the father’s sperm. These fertilised eggs grow into an embryo which is then implanted into the woman’s uterus.

Question 32

What are the negatives of IVFs?

Answer 32

It can lead to multiple pregnancies when more than one embryo is implanted. I can be very expensive for something that has quite a low success rate. It can also place lots of stress on to the woman possibly leading the treatment to be less successful.

Question 33

Describe the menstrual cycle in full (in terms of hormones and their jobs).

Answer 33

Firstly, LSH is produced by the pituitary gland which causes the egg to mature, as this is happening oestrogen is produced by the ovaries which causes a thick and spongy uterus lining to be built up. When oestrogen is produced LSH stopps and the production of LH from the pituitary gland, which causes the mature egg to be released on day 14. Progesterone stops LH production and the ovaries produce progesterone which maintains the uterus lining from days 14-28, once progesterone production halts the uterus lining is broken down and the ‘period’ begins from days 1-4.

Question 34

Explain how hormones are inserted in a woman help infertility.

Answer 34

FSH and LH are inserted to increase the chances on the woman becoming pregnant. FSH matures the egg and LH causes ovulation and when you insert these hormones the chances of the the egg becoming mature and the chances of it becoming fertile increase.