 Endocrine glands: derived from epithelial tissue or ectoderm

 Primary endocrine organs: function in hormone secretion

 Limbic system: reptilian part of the brain, shared by many organisms, control very
basic processes, heart rate, emotional responses, fight and flight
 Hypothalamus & pituitary, pineal glands (circadian rhythms)
 Thyroid & parathyroid glands: regulate metabolism and parathyroid regulates
calcium
 Thymus: T-cells
 Adrenal glands
 Pancreas
 Gonads
 Placenta
 Secondary organs: hormone secretion occurs secondary to another function (don't
memorize)
 Heart, liver, stomach, small intestine, kidney (epo), skin
 Has roles in digestion and related metabolic functions, osmoregulation, calcium
metabolism, growth, reproduction

Primary Endocrine Organs

 Hypothalamus & pituitary gland: regulate many body systems
 Releasing hormones (ctrh)
 Anterior & posterior pituitary
 Pituitary is connected to hypothalamus by the infundibulum
 Neural connection b/w hypothalamus & posterior pituitary
 Posterior pituitary is derived by neural tissue
 ADH or vasopressin: synthesized in the paraventricular nucleus. Regulates
water balance. alcohol inhibits ADH secretion, instead of reabsorbing water it
releases, lead to dehydration
 Stimulated by increase in plasma solute [], target cells are in kidneys
 Response: increase water reabsorption, decrease urine output,
promote constriction of arterioles
 Oxytocin: supraoptic nucleus, milk ejection, uterine contractions (target cells
in uterus and breasts)
 ADH and oxytocin are released by exocytosis when the neurons receive a
signal (neuroendocrine reflex). These are neurohormones
 Blood connection b/w hypothalamus & anterior pituitary
 Anterior pituitary is derived by epithelial tissue
 Portal system: Links two capillary beds, hypothalamic tropic hormones more
concentrated in the portal blood than general circulation
 Capillaries are sites where compounds can be exchanged b/w blood &
tissue. Blood then goes from capillary beds via veins back to the heart
 Hypothalamic neurosecretory cells secrete tropic hormones into the
portal system, which travel to the anterior pituitary via a portal vein
then enter a second capillary bed. The portal system allows the tropic
hormones to be delivered directly to the target cells in the anterior
pituitary i/o being diulated and degraded in general circulation. Greater
effect on hormone release
 Tropic hormones regulate secretion of other hormones
 

 Anterior and posterior pituitary glands don't communication. Have different

embryological origins.
 Hypothalamus and the pituitary: control of tropic hormone release
 Neural input to hypothalamic neurons
 Axis: relationship b/w each hypothalamic tropic hormone, anterior pitutiary
tropic hormone, target endocrine gland
 Hormonal: feedback loops, short loop and long loop negative feedback
 Short loop: inhibition of the hypothalamic tropic hormones by the
anterior pituitary
 Long loop: the hormone whose secretion is stimulated by the tropic
hormone feeds back to the hypothalamus and often the anterior
pituitary also
 Circadian rhythm

 Question: what might be challenging when studying feedback mechanisms of

hypothalamic-pituitary portal system?
 Question: What might cause GH deficiency? How would you treat it?
 Pineal Gland
 Glandular (epithelial) tissue in the brain
  Secretes melatonin: derived from tryptophan, melatonin alters the release of
GnRH, contributing to reproductive cyclicity in some species
 Thyroid Gland
 Produces thyroid hormones (T4, T3)
 Regulate metabolism, important for normal growth & development
 Produces calcitonin: regulates (Decreases) calcium levels in blood
 Parathyroid gland
 Parathyroid hormone PTH: act on bones (release), kidneys (reabsorption) ,
intestines (absorption), regulator of blood calcium (increases it)
 Vitamin D3 synthesis
 Question: a 9 year cat was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and had surgery to
remove her thyroid. All seemed well until she started to seem more restless than
normal and twitched more often (involuntary muscle movements). What might
have happened?
 Thymus
 Secretes thymosin: promotes T-cell maturation
 Most active in young
 Produced by a variety of other cells also
 Adrenal glands: adrenocorticoids (cortex)
 Above the kidneys, cortex derived from epithelial tissue
 Produces adrenocorticoids (steroids)
 3 layers: zona glomerulosa, fasciculata, reticularis
 Mineralocorticoids: secreted from zona glomerulosa
 Aldestrone: regulates sodium reabsorption & potassium secretion
 Glucocorticoids: secreted from zona fasciculata & zona reticularis
 Cortisol: regulates metabolism & stress response
 Sex hormones: secreted from zona fasciculata and zona reticularis
 Androgens: reproductive function
 Adrenal glands: catecholamines (medulla)
 Secreted by chromaffin cells
 80% epinephrine, 20% norepinephrine, <1% dopamine
 Hormone release is under neural control
 Pancreas
 Has both endocrine and exocrine functions
 Exocrine: acinar cells & duct cells, secrete into GI tract
 Islets of Langerhans
 Alpha cells: glucagon
 Beta cells: insulin
 Delta cells: somatostatin, regulates digestion & absorption of nutrients &
regulates secretion of other pancreatic hormones
 F cells: pancreatic polypeptide, inhibits exocrine secretions of the pancreas &
gallbladder contractions
 Gonads
 Endocrine and non-endocrine function
 Produce gametes & sex hormones
 Testes: testosterone & androstenedione
 Ovaries: estradiol, progesterone
 Placenta
  Estrogens, progestrone, human chorionic gonadotropin
 hCG is produced by the placenta
 Estrogen & progestrone are produced by the corpus luteum, then by the placenta

Secondary endocrine glands

 Heart
 Atrial natriuretic peptide: regulates sodium reabsorption by kidneys
 Kidneys
 Erythropoietin: stimulates production of RBCs
 GI tract
 Cholecystokinin, secretin, gastrin
 Liver
 Insulin-like growth factors: promote tissue growth
 Skin, liver, and kidneys
 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D3: regulates blood calcium
 Fat
 Leptin: depresses appetite

Control of blood hormone levels

 Rate of secretion
 Endocrine cells alter hormone secretion in response to:
 Neural signals: directly
 Hypothalamus (tropic hormones), posterior pituitary (ADH & oxytocin),
adrenal medulla (epinephrine)
 Humoral signals: hormones, ions, metabolites
 Ex: regulation of blood glucose levels
 Ex: regulation of K+ levels (high K+ --> adrenal cortex --> aldosterone -->
kidneys to excrete in urine)
 Transport
 Carrier proteins increase half life of proteins by decreasing the rate of hormones'
metabolism
 Rate of metabolism/excretion
 Hormones are metabolized by target cells in the blood & in the liver
 Endocytosis --> lysosomes
 Those free in the blood by proteolytic enzymes
 Also by enzymes in the liver
 Hydrophobic hormones (steroids, 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3, and thyroid hormones)
are metabolized more slowly, have longer half lives bc they are transported in
blood bound to carrier proteins and can be stored temporarily in fatty tissue

Abnormal secretion of hormones

 Hypersecretion: too much
 Ex: gigantism (Acromegaly)
 The blood levels of tropic hormones tend to be lower bc increased negative
feedback from the hormone regulated by the tropic hormones
 Hyposecretion: too little
 Ex: diabetes mellitus type 1
 Primary secretion disorder: abnormality in the endocrine organ secreting the hormone
 Secondary secretion disorder: abnormality in tropic hormone production
 Hypothalamic tropic hormones
 Excess CRH, Increases both for ex ACTH and cortisol levels
 Anterior pituitary tropic hormones
 Increase ACTH and cortisol, decrease CRH due to negative feedback