Endocrinology Vocabulary List 1

The following list of vocabulary words was selected from your text. I did not include all words possible. You are responsible for knowing the meaning of each of the words, the etymology of the word and be able to use the word in a coherent, self generated sentence. You will have a vocabulary quiz over the following weekend. By working with the etymology you should be able to use word fragments to elucidate the meaning of other words you encounter. 1. paracrine A chemical messenger similar to a hormone whose effects are restricted to the immediate vicinity of the cells that secrete it. PARA (next to) CRIN (to secrete). Paracrines, also called local hormones, diffuse to cells that are nearby and in the same tissue. 2. hormone a chemical messenger that is secreted into the blood by an endocrine gland or isolated gland cell and triggers a physiological response in distant cells with receptors for it. HORMONE (to excite, set in motion). Hormones are chemicals that travel through the bloodstream and cause a response in cells of another tissue or organ. 3. endocrine of, relating to, or denoting glands that secrete hormones or other products directly into the blood. ENDO (into) CRIN (to secrete) 4. parafollicular 5. biogenic 6. polypeptide any chain of more than 10 or 15 amino acids 7. steroid A lipid molecule that consists of four interconnected carbon rings cholesterol and several of its derivatives 8. prohormone 9. catecholamine a subclass of biogenic amines that includes epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine 10. synergistic An effect in which two agents working together (such as two hormones) exert an effect that is greater than the sum of their separate effects. For example, neither folliclestimulating hormone nor testosterone alone stimulates significant sperm production, but the two of them together stimulate production of vast numbers of sperm. 11. permissive 12. antagonistic a muscle that opposes the agonist at a joing. Any agent, such as a hormone or drug, that opposes another. 13. prostaglandins An eicosanoid with a five-sided carbon ring in the middle of a hydrocarbon chain, playing a variety of roles in inflammation, neurotransmission, vasomotion, reproduction, and metabolism 14. eicosanoids 15. hyposecretion inadequate secretion of a hormone or other gland product; can lead to endocrine disorders such as diabetes mellitus or pituitary dwarfism, for example. 16. pathogenesis pathogen any disease-causing organism or chemical 17. polyuria Excessive output of urine 18. ketonuria the abnormal presence of ketones in the urine as an effect of ketosis 19. glycemia 20. ketoacidosis -