HORMONES RESPONSE TO STRESS & BLOOD SUGAR

Question 1

what are adrenal glands

Answer 1

andrenal glands are located on top of the kidney
they are a pair of organs involved in regulating the stress response and blood sugar levels.
each adrenal gland is composed of:
- an inner layer (adrenal medulla)
- an outerlayer (adrenal cortex)
each layer produces different hormones and functions as an independent organ

Question 2

wyhat does adrenal medulla do

Answer 2

adrenal medulla regulates bodys short term stress response by producing the hormones
- epinephrine (adrenaline)
- and norepinephrine (noradrenaline)
- in response to a stressor, the following events occur in short term stress response
-nuerons in the sympathetic nervous system carry a signal from the hypothalamus to the adrenal medulla
- the signal causes the adrenal medulla to secrete epenephrine and norepinephrine

Question 3

what do epinephrine and norepinephrine do

Answer 3

they increase breathing and heart rate, blood pressure and blood flow to heart and muscles.
- glycogen produces gluocse in liver and increases blood sugar
- rate of cellular metabolism increases and pupils dilate

Question 4

what does adrenal cortex do

Answer 4

adrenal cortex regulates bodys long term stress response by producing hormones:
- glucocorticoids
- mineralcorticoids and gonacorticoids
in response to long term stressor the hypothalamus sends a releasing hormone to the anterior pituitary and the atnerior pituitary releases acth.
the signal casues the adrenal cortex to release gluco and minteralcorticoids

Question 5

what do glucocorticoids do

Answer 5

• increase blood sugar
  -cortisol is the most abundant gluccocorticoid
• cortisol is a steroid hormone, longer lasting than epinephrine, raise blood glucose levels, and reduce inflammation and supresses immune cells.
• cortisol levels are controlled in negative feedback loop. chronic high levels can impair thinking, damage the heart and cause early death

Question 6

mineralcorticoids

Answer 6

• increase blood pressure
• aldosterone is the main mineralocorticoid
  it stimulates the kidneys to increase the absorption of sodium in the blood
• this increases the concentration of solutes i nthe blood which draws in more water from the kidney, raising blood pressure

Question 7

damage to adrenal cortex

Answer 7

if damaged, it can result in addisons disease
- in this disease, insufficent glucocorticoid and mineralcorticoid secretion is insufficient which results in low blood sugar, sodium and potassium imbalances and weight loss.
they must be treated quick before its fatal

Question 8

THE PANCREAS

Answer 8

functions in both the digestive and endocrine system.
scattered thruout are islets and langerhans which have clusters of endocrine cells called alpha and beta cells
- alpha cells secrete the hormone glucagon and beta cells secrete the hormone insulin

Question 9

insulin vs glucagon

Answer 9

insulin lowers blood sugar, causes cells of the muscles the liver and others to become pereable to glucose
in the liver, the glucose is converted into glycogen and regulated by negative feedback

glucagon increases blood glucose and promotes the conversion of glycogen to glucose, which is released into blood

Question 10

diabetes

Answer 10

Diabetes mellitus
the pancreas does not make enough insulin or the body does not respond properly to insulin
Type one: the immune system produces antibodies that attack and destroy the beta cells of the pancreas
Type two: Tends to develop gradually, often because the insulin receptors on the body’s cells stop responding to insulin.