Chapter 9 The Endocrine System

When insulin molecules, carried passively along in the blood, leave the blood and
bind tightly to protein receptors of nearby cells, the response is dramatic:
Bloodborne glucose molecules begin to disappear into the cells, and cellular activity
accelerates. Such is the power of the second great controlling system of the body,
the endocrine system. Along with the nervous system, it coordinates and directs
the activity of the body's cells. However, the speed of control in these two great
regulating systems is very different. The nervous system is "built for speed." It uses
nerve impulses to prod the muscles and glands into immediate action so that rapid
adjustments can be made in response to changes occurring both inside and outside the body. On the
other hand, the more slowly acting endocrine system uses chemical messengers called hormones, which
are released into the blood to be transported leisurely throughout the body.

Although hormones have widespread and varied effects, the major processes controlled by hormones are
reproduction; growth and development; mobilizing body defenses against stressors; maintaining
electrolyte, water, and nutrient balance of the blood; and regulating cellular metabolism and energy
balance. As you can see, the endocrine system regulates processes that go on for relatively long periods
and, in some cases, continuously.

The Endocrine System and Hormone Function: An Overview

 Define hormone and target organ.

o Hormone – chemical messengers that are released into the blood to be transported
leisurely throughout the body – the “arouse” or bring about their effects on the body’s cells
primarily by altering cellular activity either by increasing or decreasing the rate of a normal
metabolic process rather than stimulating a new one
 Amino acid – based molecules – proteins, peptides and amines
 Steroids – made from cholesterol including sex hormones made by gonads and the
hormones produced by the adrenal cortex
 Prostaglandins – made from highly active lipids found in the cell’s plasma
membrane
o Target organ – target cells – although hormones circulate to all the organs of the body, a
given hormone affects only certain tissue cells or organs – in order for a target cell to
respond to a hormone, specific protein receptors must be present on its plasma
membrane or in its interior, to which that hormone can attach – only when binding occurs
can the hormone influence the workings of the cell
 Describe how hormones bring about their effects in the body.
o The precise changes that follow hormone binding depends on the specific hormone and the
target cell type, but one or more of the following occurs
 Changes in plasma membrane permeability or electrical state
 Synthesis of proteins or certain regulatory molecules (such as enzymes) in the cell
 Activation or inactivation of enzymes
 Stimulation of mitosis
o Two mechanisms by which hormones trigger changes in cells
 Steroidal hormones – lipid soluble molecules
 Diffuse through the plasma membranes of their target cells
 Enter the nucleus
 Bind specific receptor proteins there
  The hormone-receptor complex then binds to specific sites on the cell’s
DNA
 This activates certain genes to transcribe messenger DNA
 The mRNA then is translated in the cytoplasm resulting in the synthesis of
new proteins
 Nonsteroidal hormones – protein and peptide hormones – unable to enter the
target cells and instead bind to receptors situated on the target cells’ plasma
membrane
 The hormone binds to the membrane receptor
 Setting off a series of reactions that activates an enzyme
 That enzyme in turn catalyzes a reaction that produces a second messenger
molecule
 The second messenger molecule oversees additional intracellular changes that
promote the typical response of the target cell to the hormone
o There are a variety of possible second messengers and many possible target cell responses
to the same hormone depending on the tissue type stimulated
 Explain how various endocrine glands are stimulated to release their hormonal products.
o The stimuli that activate the endocrine organs fall into three major categories
 Hormonal stimulus – endocrine organs are prodded into action by other hormones
– hormones release promoted by this mechanism tends to be rhythmic, with
hormone blood levels rising and falling again and again
 Humoral stimulus – changing blood levels of certain ions and nutrients stimulates
hormone release – term humoral refers to the ancient use of humor to indicates the
various body fluids
 Neural stimulus – nerve fibers stimulate hormone release
 Define negative feedback and describe its role in regulating blood levels of the various hormones.
o Negative feedback – feedback that causes the stimulus to decline or end
o Hormone secretion is triggered by some internal or external stimulus, then rising hormone
levels inhibit further hormone release even while promoting responses in their target organs
resulting in stable levels of many hormones staying only within a very narrow range

The Major Endocrine Organs

 Describe the difference between endocrine and exocrine glands.

o Endocrine glands – ductless glands that produce hormones that they release into the
blood or lymph
o Exocrine glands – release their products at the body’s surface or into body cavities
through ducts
 On an appropriate diagram, identify the major endocrine glands and tissues.
o See figure 9.3 on page 283
 List hormones produced by the endocrine glands and discuss their general functions.
o See table 9.1 on pages 297-298
o Pituitary gland
 Anterior pituitary – master endocrine gland – all are proteins or peptides, act
through second-messenger systems, and are regulated by hormonal stimuli and in
most cases negative feedback
 Growth hormone – GH – growth of skeletal muscles and long bones of the
body – plays a role in determining final body size – protein-sparing and
anabolic hormone that causes amino acids to be built into proteins and
stimulates most target cells to grow in size and divide and is causes fats to be
 broken down and used for energy, and spares glucose, helping to maintain
blood sugar homeostasis
 Prolactin – PRL – protein hormone – only known target is breast tissue
where it stimulates and maintains milk production after childbirth
 Adrenocorticotropic hormone – ACTH – regulates the endocrine activity of
the cortex portion of the adrenal gland
 Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) also called thyrotropic hormone
(TH) influences the growth and activity of the thyroid gland
 Godadotropic hormone – regulates the hormonal activity of the gonads
 Females – follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) – stimulates follicle
development in the ovaries and as they mature, they produce
estrogen, and eggs are readied for ovulation – luteinizing hormone
(LH) triggers ovulation of an egg from the ovary and causes the
ruptured follicle to become a corpus luteum, it then stimulates the
corpus luteum to produce progesterone and some estrogen
 Males – FSH stimulates sperm development by the testes – LH is also
referred to as interstitial cell-stimulating hormone (ICSH) that
stimulates testosterone production by the interstitial cells of the
testes
 Posterior pituitary
 Oxytocin – released only during childbirth and in nursing women –
stimulates contractions of the uterine muscles during labor, during sexual
relations, and when breast-feeding infants (causes milk ejections/letdown
reflex)
 Antidiuretic hormone – ADH – causes the kidneys to reabsorb more water
from the forming urine and as a result, urine volume decreases and blood
volume increases – also increases blood pressure by causing constriction of
the arterioles therefore also called vasopressin
o Thyroid gland
 Thyroid hormone – the body’s major metabolic hormone – two active iodine-
containing hormones; thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) – controls the rate at
which glucose is burned and converted to body heat and chemical energy – also
important for normal tissue growth and development, especially in the reproductive
and nervous systems
 Calcitonin – thyrocalcitonin – decreases blood calcium levels by causing calcium
to be deposited in the bones – acts antagonistically to parathyroid hormone
o Parathyroid glands
 Parathyroid hormone (PTH) – parathormone – stimulates bone destruction cells
(osteoclasts) to break down bone matrix and release calcium into the blood when
blood calcium levels drop – also stimulates the kidneys and intestines to absorb
more calcium
o Adrenal glands – two glands in one – glandular (cortex) and neural tissue (medulla) parts
 Adrenal cortex – produces three major groups of steroid hormones collectively
called corticosteroids
 Mineralocorticoids – mainly aldosterone – stimulated by humoral factors –
produced by the outermost adrenal cortex cell layer – regulate the mineral (or
salt) content of the blood, particularly the concentrations of sodium and
potassium ions - target the kidney tubules that selectively reabsorb the
minerals or allow them to be flushed out in the urine – when sodium is
reabsorbed, water follows so they also help regulate both water and
electrolyte balance in body fluids
  Renin – an enzyme produced by the kidneys when blood pressure
drops, also causes the release of aldosterone by triggering a series of
reactions that result in formation of angiostensin II, a potent
stimulator of aldosterone release
 Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) – hormone released by the heart
that prevents aldosterone release to reduce blood volume and blood
pressure
 Glucocorticoids – including cortisone and cortisol – promote normal cell
metabolism and help the body to resist long-term stressors, primarily by
increasing blood glucose levels by breaking down fats and proteins into
glucose, which is released into the blood – also reduce edema, reduce pain by
inhibiting some pain-causing molecules called prostaglandins
 Sex hormones – both male and female – produced in small amounts
throughout life – bulk of the sex hormones produced by innermost cortex
layer are androgens (male sex hormones), some estrogens (female sex
hormones) are also produced
 Adrenal Medulla – develops from a knot of nervous tissue
 Catecholamines – Epinephrine (adrenaline) and Norepinephrine
(noradrenaline) – released during the “fight-or-flight response of the
sympathetic nervous system to help the body cope with short-term stressful
situations
o Pancreatic Islets
 The pancreas is a mixed gland – participates in digestion as well as the endocrine
system
 Pancreatic islets – masses of hormone-producing tissue scattered among the
enzyme-producing tissue of the pancreas
 Insulin – released when there is a high level of glucose in the blood that
stimulates beta cells of the islets to release the hormone – increases a cell’s
ability to transport glucose across the membrane into the cell for use or
storage
 Hypoglycemic – sweeps glucose into the cells and out of the
bloodstream and falling blood-glucose levels stops the stimulus to
release insulin – negative feedback
 Glucagon – antagonists of insulin – released by alpha cells of the islets
stimulated by low blood-glucose levels
 Hyperglycemic – stimulated the liver to break down stored glycogen
into glucose and to release it into the blood
o Pineal Gland – pineal body
 Melatonin – sleep trigger – plays a role in establishing the body’s day-night
cycle – also coordinates the hormones of fertility and to inhibit the
reproductive system (especially of females) so that sexual maturation is
prevented from occurring during childhood, before the adult body size has
been reached
o Thymus – large in infants and children – decreases in size throughout adulthood
 Thymosin – programs T cells - during childhood the thymus acts as an incubator for
the maturation of a special group of white blood cells (T lymphocytes) that are
important in the immune response
o Gonads – produce the same hormones as the adrenal cortex cells – differences are the
source and amounts
 Hormones of the ovaries – stimulated to be released in a cyclic way by the
anterior gonadotropic hormones
  Estrogens – estrone and estradiol – produced by the Graafian follicles of the
ovaries – stimulate the development of the secondary sex characteristics in
females – also work with progesterone to prepare the uterus to receive a
fertilized egg or to stimulated the menstrual cycle
 Progesterone – with estrogen, helps maintain the menstrual cycle – during
pregnancy, it quiets the muscles of the uterus to prevent the implanted
embryo from being aborted and it helps prepare the breast tissue for lactation
 Hormones of the testes
 Androgens – testosterone is most important – produced by interstitial cells
of the testes and cause the development of the adult male secondary sex
characteristics and promotes the growth and maturation of the reproductive
system organs – necessary for the continuous production of sperm
 Discuss ways in which hormones promote body homeostasis by giving examples of hormonal
actions.
o The parathyroids secrete parathyroid hormone (PTH) or parathormone – the most important
regulator of calcium ion homeostasis of the blood – when blood calcium levels drop
below a certain level, the parathyroids release PTH, which stimulates bone destruction cells
(osteoclasts) to break down bone matrix and release calcium into the blood whereas
calcitonin or thyrocalcitonin produced by the thyroid gland decreases blood calcium levels by
causing calcium to be deposited in the bones
o Rising blood sugar levels stimulate insulin-secreting cells of the pancreas causing cells to
increase the uptake of glucose from the blood and lower the blood sugar levels while
dropping blood sugar levels stimulates the glucagon-releasing cells of the pancreas to break
down glycogen into glucose and release it into the blood stream to raise the blood sugar
levels
 Describe the functional relationship between the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland.
o The release of hormones from the anterior pituitary is controlled by releasing and
inhibiting hormones produced by the hypothalamus
o The hypothalamus releases these regulatory hormones into the blood of the portal
circulation, which connects the blood supply of the hypothalamus with that of the anterior
pituitary
o The hypothalamus also produces oxytocin and antidiuretic hormones, which are transported
along the axons of the hypothalamic neurosecretory cells to the posterior pituitary for
storage to be released later in response to nerve impulses from the hypothalamus
 Describe major pathological consequences of hypersecretion and hyposecretion of the hormones
considered in this chapter.
o Hypersecretion – too much is produced
 Too much GH during childhood results in gigantism with heights up to 8-9 feet
 Too much FSH or LH given to promote fertility stimulate the release of the
gonadotropic hormones and multiple births can occur
 Too much thyroid hormone leads to Grave’s disease – the thyroid gland enlarges
and the eyes may bulge, or protrude anteriorly
 Too much parathyroid hormone causes massive bone destruction and the bones
become very fragile and spontaneous fractures begin to occur
 Too much of the outer most adrenal cortex hormones result in hyperaldosteronism
(excessive water and sodium are retained leading to high blood pressure and edema,
and potassium is lost to such an extent that the activity of the heart and nervous
system may be disrupted)
 Too much middle cortex hormones (glucocorticoids) leads to Cushing’s Syndrome
– moon face, buffalo hump of fat on upper back, high blood pressure, hyperglycemia
 and possible diabetes, weakening of the bones, and severe depression of the
immune system
 Too much sex hormones leads to masculinization, regardless of sex
 Too much catecholamines leads to symptoms typical of excessive sympathetic
nervous system activity
o Hyposecretion – too little is produced
 Too little GH during childhood leads to pituitary dwarfism – max height of 4 feet
 Too little GH after long-bone growth has ended, acromegaly results – facial bones,
particularly the lower jaw and bony ridges underlying the eyebrows, enlarge
tremendously, as do the hands and feet
 Too little FSH or LH leads to sterility in both sexes
 Too little ADH leads to diabetes insipidus – excessive urine output due to being
continuously thirsty and drinking huge amounts of water
 Too little thyroid hormone in early childhood results in cretinism – dwarfism in
which adult body proportions remain childlike along with mental retardation
 Too little thyroid hormone in adulthood results in myxedema – physical and mental
sluggishness, puffiness of the face, fatigue, poor muscle tone, low body temperature,
obesity, and dry skin
 Too little adrenal cortex hormones leads to Addison’s disease – bronze tone of the
skin caused by low levels of sodium and water and thus an electrolyte and water
balance causing muscles to become weak – a complete lack of glucocorticoids will
result in death
 Too little sex hormones causes a person to become sterile

Other Hormone-Producing Tissues and Organs

 Indicate the endocrine role of the kidneys, the stomach and intestine, the heart, and the placenta.
o See table 9.2 on page 301
o Kidneys – produces renin when blood pressure drops and causes the release of
aldosterone causing the kidneys to reabsorb sodium and potassium ions – produces
erythropoietin that promotes the production of red blood cells in the bone marrow – also
activates vitamin D made by epidermal cells of skin that causes intestine cells to actively
transport dietary calcium across the intestinal cell membranes
o Stomach – produces gastrin – stimulates glands to release hydrochloric acid (HCL)
o Duodenum (small intestine) – produces intestinal gastrin that inhibits HCL secretion
by the stomach and gastrointestinal tract mobility – produces secretin that stimulates the
release of bicarbonate-rich juice by the pancreas and increases release of bile from the liver
and inhibits secretory activity of the stomach – produces cholecystokinin (CCK) that
stimulates the pancreas to release a enzyme-rich juice, stimulates the gallbladder to release
stored bile, causes the duodenal papilla sphincter to relax, allowing bile and pancreatic juice
to enter the duodenum
o Heart – atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) – prevents aldosterone release by the adrenal
cortex to reduce blood volume and blood pressure – inhibits the kidneys from reabsorbing
sodium and from releasing renin
o Placenta – produces human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) – initially produced by the
conceptus and then by the fetal part of the placenta – stimulates the corpus luteum of the
ovary to continue producing estrogen and progesterone so that the lining of the uterus is
not sloughed off in menses until the third month of pregnancy and then the placenta takes
over the role of producing the hormones and the ovaries become inactive for the rest of the
pregnancy – also helps prepare the breasts for producing milk – human placental
lactogen (hPL) – works with estrogen and progesterone in preparing the breasts for
 lactation – produces relaxin – causes the mother’s pelvic ligaments and pubic symphysis to
relax and become more flexible, which eases birth passage

Developmental Aspects of the Endocrine System

 Describe the effect of aging on the endocrine system and body homeostasis.
o Most endocrine organs seem to operate smoothly until old age
 In late middle age, the efficiency of the ovaries begins to decline causing the onset of
menopause – during this time, a woman’s reproductive organs begin to atrophy, and
the ability to bear children ends
 Problems associated with estrogen deficiency begin to occur – arteriosclerosis,
osteoporosis, decreased skin elasticity, fatigue, nervousness, mood changes,
and changes in the operation of the sympathetic nervous system that result in
hot flashes
 The efficiency of the endocrine system as a whole gradually declines in old age
 The growth hormone output by the anterior pituitary declines, partially
explaining muscle atrophy in old age
 Since the anterior pituitary affects so many other endocrine glands, it is
assumed that its target organs also become less productive – older people are
often mildly hypothyroid, have some decline in insulin production leading to
adult-onset diabetes, and are less able to resist stress and infection partly
due to waning melatonin that plays a role in promoting the immune response