Thyroid gland & control of metabolism (lecture 27) Flashcards
Function of the thyroid gland
Plays an important role in regulating metabolism & body weight
What are the products of the thyroid?
T3 - Triiodothyronine
T4 - Tetraiodothyronine (thyroxine)
Calcitonin
What is the major product of the thyroid?
T4
What is the most active product of the thyroid?
T3
What does calcitonin do?
Involved in calcium homeostasis
Structure of the thyroid gland
Biggest endocrine tissue/gland in the body
Found in the neck – below adams apple, above sternal notch & infront of the trachea
2 lobes with a connecting isthmus
Rich blood supply
2-4 pairs of parathyroids imbedded in posterior of thyroid
What are the 2 lobes of the thyroid gland connected by?
Isthmus
Why does the thyroid gland need a rich blood supply?
To carry thyroid hormones away & deliver thyroid with iodine – key ingredient to making thyroid hormones
What do parathyroids do?
Produce parathyroid hormones
Important in controlling calcium & phosphate balance
What is the functional unit of the thyroid gland?
Follicles - follicular cells
Single layer of cells surrounding a pool of colloid
What happens in the colloid?
Production & storage of thyroid hormones
Relatively large store
Grows & shrinks all the time
What are C cells?
C cells secrete calcitonin
Generally bigger than colloid
How are thyroid hormones produced?
By iodination and coupling of tyrosine
What is thyroglobulin?
Tyrosine rich
Produced by follicular cells and moved into the colloid
Glycoprotein synthesised by follicular cells and released into the follicular lumen (colloid) by exocytosis
What happens as the follicular-colloid border?
Tyrosine residues within thyroglobulin are iodinated in the presence of the enzyme thyroperoxidase
What are T1 and T2?
Precursors
T1 = monoidotyrosine
T2 = diidotyrosine
What are T3 and T4?
Active hormones
How are T3 and T4 produced?
The coupling of T1 and T2 under the control of thyroperoxidase
When is tyrosine iodinated?
When in moves into the colloid