Hormones Flashcards
The greek for hormone means…
“set into motion”
3 important characteristics of a hormone
Stability
Communication
Distribution
Stability of a hormone
Hormone concentrations must remain stable in the bloodstream in order to activate their targets continuously
Half-life of a hormon
The amount of time it takes for 50% of teh hormone to be removed from circulation and excreted
Communication
Hormones must be able to interact with target tissue in a specific manner to coordinate a specific set of events
Distribution
Hormones are transported by teh blood to many locations and can actiavte any cell in the body.
Binding proteins
The proteins that chaperone hormones on their transport by binding to blood proteins
Bound hormones
Hormones that attach to a binding protein
Free hormones
Hormones that detach from their binding proteins at their target tissues
Two chemical categories of hormones
Lipid-soluble and water soluble
Lipid soluble hormones examples (3)
Steroid
Thyroid
Fatty acid derivatives
Transport of lipid soluble hormones
Travel as bound protiens
Have long lifespans (days to weeks)
Conjugation
the process that removes lipid-solubel hormones from circulation when enzymes in teh liver attach water soluble molecules to hormones
Water soluble hormones (examples)
Protein hormones
Peptied hormones
Amino acid derivatives
Transport of water-soluble hormones
Many circulate as free hormones
Typically large and do not easily diffuse through walls of capillaries; diffuse slowly
