NUR 612 EXAM 1 QUESTIONS
COMPLETE AND CORRECT
ANSWERS
\Q\.Endocrine System - ANSWERS✔-System composed of various glands that can synthesize and
release special chemical messengers called hormones.
System works closely with the Nervous System and the Immune system to regulate and
integrate body functions.
Functions:
Growth and development
Sexual differentiation
Metabolism
Adaptation to an ever-changing environment
Regulation of digestion
Use and storage of nutrients
Electrolyte and water metabolism
Reproductive functions
\Q\.Hormones - ANSWERS✔-Endocrine system uses chemical substances called hormones as a
means of regulating and integrating body functions.
Hormones are thought of as chemical messengers produced to target a specific cell. They do
NOT initiate reactions but function as a modulator of cellular and systemic responses.
,Function as chemical messengers
Move through the blood to distant target sites of action
Or, act more locally as paracrine or autocrine messengers that incite more local effects
Most are present in body fluids at all times in greater or lesser amounts as needed.
Characteristics
A single hormone can exert various effects in different tissues.
A single function can be regulated by several hormones.
\Q\.Types of Hormone Actions - ANSWERS✔-Hormones are released in one location but can
have the biologic effect either in that location of release or somewhere else
Endocrine
Paracrine
Autocrine
Intracrine
\Q\.Endocrine - ANSWERS✔-Hormones are released in the circulation to act on a target organ
(between remote cells)
\Q\.Paracrine - ANSWERS✔-Hormones acts locally in cells other than that produced the
hormones Ex: sex steroids in ovary (between local cells)
Hormones acting locally on cells other than those that produced the hormone
For example, the action of sex steroids on the ovary
\Q\.Autocrine - ANSWERS✔-Hormones exert action on the cells from which they are produced
ex: insulin (on the cell that produced them)
,Hormones exerting action on the cells from which they were produced
For example, the release of insulin from pancreatic beta cells can inhibit its release from the
same cells
\Q\.Intracrine - ANSWERS✔-Hormone action is within the cell that produced the hormone
\Q\.Mechanisms of Hormone Action - ANSWERS✔-Hormones interact with high-affinity
receptors.
These are linked to one or more effector system in the cell.
Hormone receptors may be located in the plasma membrane of the cell (surface of the cell) or
in the intracellular compartment (inside the cell) of the target cell.
\Q\.The vesicle mediated pathway - ANSWERS✔-Protein and polypeptide hormones are
synthesized and stored in vesicles in the cytoplasm of the endocrine cell until secretion is
required. Stimulation of the endocrine cell causes the vesicles to move to the cell membrane
and release their hormones.
\Q\.Non-vesicle mediated pathway - ANSWERS✔-Hormones are synthesized in the smooth
endoplasmic reticulum and released upon synthesis. Ex.: Steroid hormones
\Q\.Actions of Hormones Released
into the Bloodstream - ANSWERS✔-Circulate as free, unbound molecules
Peptide hormones and protein hormones usually circulate unbound in the blood.
Circulate as hormones attached to transport carriers
Steroid hormones and thyroid hormone are carried by specific carrier proteins synthesized in
the liver.
Intracellular and extracellular mechanisms participate in the termination of hormone function.
, Only free hormones can signal a target cell.
\Q\.Important Thoughts on Transport
Carrier Hormones - ANSWERS✔-The extent of hormone binding to it's transport carrier
influences the rate at which hormones leave the blood and enter the cells.
Pause and read Transport at the bottom of page 1265 through mid-page 1267. Understand the
correlation between hormone binding and half-life.
\Q\.Metabolism and Elimination - ANSWERS✔-Hormones secreted by endocrine cells must be
inactivated continuously to prevent their accumulation.
Some hormones are degraded by enzymes in the blood or tissue and excreted by the kidneys
and liver
Major mechanism of degradation is through hormone binding to cell-surface receptors, with
subsequent uptake and degradation by enzymes in the cell membrane or inside the cell.
\Q\.Hormones Receptors - ANSWERS✔-Complex molecular structures located either on the
surface or inside the target cells.
The function of these receptors is to recognize a specific hormone and translate the hormonal
signal into a cellular response. The receptor is structured in such a way that they respond to
specific hormones. (Think "lock and key".)
The response of a target cell to a hormone varies with the NUMBER of receptors present and
with the AFFINITY of these receptors for hormone binding.
A variety of factors influence the number of receptors that are present on target cells and their
affinity for hormone.
\Q\.Factors Affecting Response of a Target Cell to a Hormone - ANSWERS✔-Number of
receptors present: Increased or decreased hormone levels often induce changes in the activity
of the genes that regulate receptor synthesis.
Up-regulation: decreased hormone levels increase receptor numbers
Increased hormone sensitivity results
COMPLETE AND CORRECT
ANSWERS
\Q\.Endocrine System - ANSWERS✔-System composed of various glands that can synthesize and
release special chemical messengers called hormones.
System works closely with the Nervous System and the Immune system to regulate and
integrate body functions.
Functions:
Growth and development
Sexual differentiation
Metabolism
Adaptation to an ever-changing environment
Regulation of digestion
Use and storage of nutrients
Electrolyte and water metabolism
Reproductive functions
\Q\.Hormones - ANSWERS✔-Endocrine system uses chemical substances called hormones as a
means of regulating and integrating body functions.
Hormones are thought of as chemical messengers produced to target a specific cell. They do
NOT initiate reactions but function as a modulator of cellular and systemic responses.
,Function as chemical messengers
Move through the blood to distant target sites of action
Or, act more locally as paracrine or autocrine messengers that incite more local effects
Most are present in body fluids at all times in greater or lesser amounts as needed.
Characteristics
A single hormone can exert various effects in different tissues.
A single function can be regulated by several hormones.
\Q\.Types of Hormone Actions - ANSWERS✔-Hormones are released in one location but can
have the biologic effect either in that location of release or somewhere else
Endocrine
Paracrine
Autocrine
Intracrine
\Q\.Endocrine - ANSWERS✔-Hormones are released in the circulation to act on a target organ
(between remote cells)
\Q\.Paracrine - ANSWERS✔-Hormones acts locally in cells other than that produced the
hormones Ex: sex steroids in ovary (between local cells)
Hormones acting locally on cells other than those that produced the hormone
For example, the action of sex steroids on the ovary
\Q\.Autocrine - ANSWERS✔-Hormones exert action on the cells from which they are produced
ex: insulin (on the cell that produced them)
,Hormones exerting action on the cells from which they were produced
For example, the release of insulin from pancreatic beta cells can inhibit its release from the
same cells
\Q\.Intracrine - ANSWERS✔-Hormone action is within the cell that produced the hormone
\Q\.Mechanisms of Hormone Action - ANSWERS✔-Hormones interact with high-affinity
receptors.
These are linked to one or more effector system in the cell.
Hormone receptors may be located in the plasma membrane of the cell (surface of the cell) or
in the intracellular compartment (inside the cell) of the target cell.
\Q\.The vesicle mediated pathway - ANSWERS✔-Protein and polypeptide hormones are
synthesized and stored in vesicles in the cytoplasm of the endocrine cell until secretion is
required. Stimulation of the endocrine cell causes the vesicles to move to the cell membrane
and release their hormones.
\Q\.Non-vesicle mediated pathway - ANSWERS✔-Hormones are synthesized in the smooth
endoplasmic reticulum and released upon synthesis. Ex.: Steroid hormones
\Q\.Actions of Hormones Released
into the Bloodstream - ANSWERS✔-Circulate as free, unbound molecules
Peptide hormones and protein hormones usually circulate unbound in the blood.
Circulate as hormones attached to transport carriers
Steroid hormones and thyroid hormone are carried by specific carrier proteins synthesized in
the liver.
Intracellular and extracellular mechanisms participate in the termination of hormone function.
, Only free hormones can signal a target cell.
\Q\.Important Thoughts on Transport
Carrier Hormones - ANSWERS✔-The extent of hormone binding to it's transport carrier
influences the rate at which hormones leave the blood and enter the cells.
Pause and read Transport at the bottom of page 1265 through mid-page 1267. Understand the
correlation between hormone binding and half-life.
\Q\.Metabolism and Elimination - ANSWERS✔-Hormones secreted by endocrine cells must be
inactivated continuously to prevent their accumulation.
Some hormones are degraded by enzymes in the blood or tissue and excreted by the kidneys
and liver
Major mechanism of degradation is through hormone binding to cell-surface receptors, with
subsequent uptake and degradation by enzymes in the cell membrane or inside the cell.
\Q\.Hormones Receptors - ANSWERS✔-Complex molecular structures located either on the
surface or inside the target cells.
The function of these receptors is to recognize a specific hormone and translate the hormonal
signal into a cellular response. The receptor is structured in such a way that they respond to
specific hormones. (Think "lock and key".)
The response of a target cell to a hormone varies with the NUMBER of receptors present and
with the AFFINITY of these receptors for hormone binding.
A variety of factors influence the number of receptors that are present on target cells and their
affinity for hormone.
\Q\.Factors Affecting Response of a Target Cell to a Hormone - ANSWERS✔-Number of
receptors present: Increased or decreased hormone levels often induce changes in the activity
of the genes that regulate receptor synthesis.
Up-regulation: decreased hormone levels increase receptor numbers
Increased hormone sensitivity results
