Hormones Flashcards
What is a hormone?
An organic chemical substance, usually a protein but sometimes a steroid, secreted by an endocrine gland
How do hormones travel in the body?
They are carried in the bloodstream to their target organ/s
What do hormones do?
They regulate metabolic reactions
Why do hormones not last long in the body?
They are broken down by enzymes
What is chemical coordination?
A slow, prolonged process of communicating information throughout the body by way of chemicals called hormones
What hormones are secreted by the pituitary?
- Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)
- Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)
- Luteinizing hormone (LH)
- Prolactin
- Interstitial cell stimulating hormone (ICSH)
- Growth hormone (GH) or (STH) (somatotrophic hormone)
What is the function of the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)?
It stimulated the thyroid gland to secrete its hormone, thyroxin
What is the function of the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in females?
FSH stimulates oogenesis in the ovary (i.e. the formation of eggs)
What is the function of the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in males?
FSH stimulates spermatogenesis in the testes (i.e. sperm formation)
What is the function of the luteinizing hormone (LH)?
LH stimulates ovulation (release of an egg) from the ovary and the formation of the corpus luteum
What is the function of prolactin?
It stimulates the production of milk in the female mammary glands after the birth of the baby.
It is also responsible for much of the maternal instinct
What is the function of the interstitial cell stimulating hormone(ICSH)?
It stimulates the testes to secrete testosterone
What is the function of the growth hormone(GH) or somatotrophic hormone (STH)?
It promotes skeletal and muscular growth by stimulating the synthesis of proteins
Which gland secretes the hormone thyroxin?
The thyroid gland
What is the first function of thyroxin?
- It increases the basal metabolic (and therefore production of body heat) in all body cells by controlling the rate of cellular respiration
