Lesson 4

The Endocrine System

18.1 Nervous vs Endocrine System
 Act together to coordinate ALL body systems
 Nervous system: nerve impulses and neurotransmitters
 Endocrine system: hormones (mediator molecule)
 Nervous system: stimulates or inhibits release of hormones
 Hormones: may promote or inhibit generation of nerve
impulses
18.2 Endocrine Glands
 Include the pituitary,
thyroid, parathyroid,
adrenal and pineal
glands.
 Also include tissue in
the hypothalamus,
thymus, pancreas,
ovaries, testes,
kidneys, stomach,
liver, small intestine,
skin, heart, adipose
tissue, and placenta

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
18.3 Hormone Activity
 Hormones traveling throughout the body will only affect target cells that
possess specific protein receptors.
 Receptors on cells are continually being synthesized and broken down.
 Receptors may be down-regulated in the presence of high concentrations of
hormone.
 Receptors may be up-regulated in the presence of low concentrations of
hormone.
18.3 Circulating vs Local Hormornes
 Local Hormones
 Paracrines
 Act on cells nearby (travel via interstitial fluid ONLY)
 Autocrines
 Those that act on the same cell that secretes them.

Ex.: Interleukin 2,
released by helper T-
cells, activates nearby
immune cells AND
causes original helper
T-cell to multiply

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
18.4 Mechanisms of Hormone Action
 How a target cell responds to a hormone is
based on:
 The hormone’s concentration in the blood
 The number of hormone receptors on the target cell
 Influences exerted by other hormones
 Some hormones work more effectively when a
second hormone is present to assist them
(permissive and/or synergistic effect) (ex. FSH
and estrogen)
 Some hormones oppose the action of others
(antagonistic effect) (eg. Insulin and glucagon)
18.5 Control of Hormone Secretion

Negative feedback Positive feedback

Hypothalamus and Pituitary Gland
 work together to control other endocrine
glands
 regulate growth, development,
metabolism, and homeostasis.
Pituitary gland
 Anterior lobe (adenohypophysis)
 75% of the weight of the pituitary
gland
 secretes 7 hormones.
 Posterior lobe (neurohypophysis)
 made of neural tissue
 releases two hormones made by the
hypothalamus.
Hypothalamus
 secretes releasing and inhibiting
hormones which control the release of
hormones by the pituitary gland.
Hypophyseal portal system
 Connects pituitary gland and
hypothalamus via infundibulum
Hypothalamus and Pituitary Gland
 Human growth hormone (hGH)
 most plentiful anterior
pituitary hormone.
 released in bursts every few
hours by somatotrophs
(specific cells)
 Somatotroph activity
controlled by two
hypothalamic hormones:
 growth hormone-
releasing hormone
(GHRH)
 growth hormone-
inhibiting hormone
(GHIH).
Hypothalamus and Pituitary Gland

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Hypothalamus and Pituitary Gland
Posterior pituitary gland
 does not synthesize any hormones
 stores two hormones produced by the neurosecretory cells of the
hypothalamus
 Hormones released from axon terminals:
 Oxytocin (OT)
 Anti-diuretic hormone (ADH).
 hypothalamohypophyseal tract: axons from the neurosecretory cells
 Thyroid Gland
• butterfly-shaped gland
• inferior to the larynx; anterior to trachea.
• right and left lateral lobes connected by
isthmus
• some also have pyramidal lobe projecting
from isthmus

Parafollicular cells
• Produce calcitonin

Follicular cells
Stimulated by:
• thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)
(hypothalamus) – causes 
• thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) (anterior
pituitary) – causes follicular cells to 
Produce thyroid hormones:
• thyroxine (tetraiodothyronine, T4)
• triiodothyronine (T3)

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Thyroid Gland
Calcitonin: High blood Ca+2  increases secretion by parafollicular cells 
slows down osteoclast breakdown & promotes bone absorption of calcium.

Thyroid hormones:
Low temperature, pregnancy, low thyroid hormones  hypothalamus to release
TRH  anterior pituitary to release TSH  follicular cells to release thyroid
hormones 
 Increase basal metabolic rate (BMR)
 Help maintain normal body temperature
 Stimulate protein synthesis
 Increase the use of glucose and fatty acids for ATP production
 Work with hGH and insulin to accelerate body growth
 Parathyroid Glands
• Location: posterior aspect of
each lobe of the thyroid gland
• 2 glands: inferior and superior
• 2 types of cells:
 Chief cells (principal
cells)
 produce parathyroid
hormone (PTH,
parathormone)
 Oxyphil cells :
 function unknown in
normal parathyroid
glands
 secrete excess PTH in
cases of parathyroid
cancer
Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Parathyroid Glands
 Parathyroid hormone – works with calcitriol (vitamin D) and calcitonin to
regulate calcium homeostasis

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Adrenal Glands
• Located on top of each kidney
• Divided into two regions
• outer cortex
• medial medulla
• covered by a connective tissue
capsule.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Adrenal Glands - Histology
Cortex: Three regions:
 zona glomerulosa
 secretes mineralocorticoids
 regulate mineral homeostasis
 Example: ex. aldosterone: renin – angiotensin
– aldosterone pathway regulates Na+ and
K+)
 zona fasciculata
 secretes glucocorticoids (ex. cortisol
(hydrocortisone), cortisone, corticosterone)
 Control by negative feedback:
 Protein breakdown
 Glucose formation
 Lipolysis
 Resistance to stress
 Inflammation
 Immune responses
 zona reticularis
 secretes weak androgens (ex.
dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).
 Males, after puberty - testosterone
overshadows effect of DHEA
 Females, DHEA and others
 promoting libido
 converted to estrogens
 menopause – all estrogens come from
adrenal androgens.
Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Adrenal Glands
Adrenal medulla
 stimulated by sympathetic
preganglionic neurons of the
autonomic nervous system
(ANS).
 Contains chromaffin cells
 secrete epinephrine
(adrenaline) and
norepinephrine
(noradrenaline)
 involved in the fight-or-flight
response.
Pancreas – endocrine function
 Reminder – exocrine – acini – produce digestive
enzymes
 Endocrine: pancreatic islets

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Pancreatic Islets
 Four types of cells
 Alpha (A) cells – secrete glucagon
– breaks down glycogen in liver
 Beta (B) cells – insulin – assists
glucose across body’s cell
membranes
 Delta (D) cells – somatostatin –
inhibits glucagon and insulin
production, slows absorption in gut
 F cells - pancreatic polypeptide –
inhibits somatostatin secretion, gall
bladder constriction, pancreatic
digestive enzymes.
 Pancreatic Islets
Secretion of insulin
and glucagon are
controlled by negative
feedback.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Ovaries and Testes
 Ovaries produce
 two estrogens
(estradiol and
estrone)
 progesterone
 relaxin
 inhibin.
 Testes produce
 Testosterone
 inhibin
Pineal Gland and Thymus
 Pineal gland
 attached to the roof of the
third ventricle of the brain
 Secretes melatonin - regulate
the body’s biological clock.
 Thymus
 behind the sternum between
the lungs.
 It produces thymosin, thymic
humoral factor (THF), thymic
factor (TF) and thymopoietin
 promote maturation of the
immune system’s T cells.
GI Tract Hormones
GI tract:
• Gastrin - gastric juice
• Glucose-dependent
insulinotropic peptide (GIP)
– insulin release
• Secretin – pancreatic juice
and bile
• Cholecystokinin (CCK) –
pancreatic juice and bile,
feeling full

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Placental Hormones
Placenta:
• Human chorionic
gonadotropin (hCG) –
maintain pregnancy (gets
corpus luteum to keep
secreting estrogen)
• Estrogens and progesterone
• Human chorionic
somatomammotropin –
prepare for lactation

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Other Hormones
Kidney
• Renin – vasoconstriction,
secretion of aldosterone,
increase bp
• Erythropoietin – more red
blood cells
• Calcitrol (vitamin D) – for
absorbing dietary calcium
and phosophorus
Heart
• Atrial natriuretic peptide
(ANP) – decrease bp
Adipose Tissue
• Leptin – suppress appetite

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Endocrine Disorders
 Pituitary gigantism and acromegaly are
caused by excess secretion of growth
hormone.
 Pituitary dwarfism are caused by
decreased secretion of growth hormones.
 Diabetes insipidus is caused by
hyposecretion of ADH. This results in
excretion of large amounts of dilute urine
with subsequent dehydration and thirst
 Goiter is caused by a reduction in the
production of thyroid hormone.
 Graves disease (with associated
exophthalmos) develops due to excess
thyroid hormone.
Endocrine Disorders
 Type I and Type II Diabetes - inability to produce or use insulin
 Type I
 Autoimmune disorder
 Destruction of the beta cells in the pancreatic islets leads to no
insulin produced.
 All insulin must be taken via subcutaneous route (injections, insulin
pump)
 Type II
 Genetic/Lifestyle/Multifactorial
 Down regulation of insulin receptors for various causes
 Treatment is diet/exercise, various type of oral medications, injected
insulin
 High blood glucose levels in DM I or II over time can lead to complications
such as kidneyCopyright
failure,©retinopathy, neuropathy,
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