ENDOCRINOLOGY

Control Systems

That control the different body functions and also

resist to change in normal functioning of the body
systems………
Major Control Systems

 Nervous system/
Electrical control system

 Hormonal system/
Chemical control system
Nervous system
 Hormonal system /
Chemical control system
Others…….
 Neuroendocrine hormones
are secreted by neurons into the circulating
blood and influence the function of cells at
another location in the body.

The major center of neuroendocrine integration

in the body is found in the hypothalamus and the
pituitary gland.
 e.g,
Sympathetic nerve fiber impulses stimulate the release of
adrenal medullary hormones. In this way the sympathetic
division of the autonomic nervous system and the medullary
secretions function together.
 Paracrine
Paracrine signaling is a form of cell signaling in
which the target cell is near ("para" = near) the
signal-releasing cell.

Examples: Growth factor and clotting factors are

paracrine signaling agents
 Autocrines
Autocrine signaling is a form of signalling in which
a cell secretes a hormone, or chemical messenger
(called the autocrine agent) that binds to autocrine
receptors on the same cell, leading to changes in the
cell. This can be contrasted with paracrine
signaling, intracrine signalling, or classical
endocrine signaling
 Examples: An example of an autocrine
agent is the cytokine interleukin-1 in
monocytes. When this is produced in
response to external stimuli, it can bind to
cell-surface receptors on the same cell that
produced it
 Gland

An organ in the human or animal body that

secretes particular chemical substances for use
in the body or for discharge into the
surroundings.
Types of Glands
1. Exocrine Glands

Having Ducts

2. Endocrine Glands

Ductless Glands
 Endocrine Gland
Hormones producing glands…..

It regulates the body activities

 Hormone
A chemical substance secreted into the internal
body fluids by a cell or group of cells…….
General Functions
 Homeostatic maintenance

To keep the body in a state of balance

Growth and development

One of vital functions

Reproduction
Gametes formation
Emergencies…
During stress etc
 Synergistic Functions
Mutual cooperation of hormones
Antagonistic function

Antiparallel function
Chemical Structure and Synthesis of Hormones

There are three general classes of hormones:

1. Proteins and polypeptides, including hormones

secreted by the anterior and posterior pituitary
gland, the pancreas (insulin and glucagon), the
parathyroid gland (parathyroid hormone), and
many others.
2. Steroids secreted by the adrenal cortex
(cortisol and aldosterone), the ovaries (estrogen
and progesterone), the testes (testosterone),
and the placenta (estrogen and progesterone).
3. Derivatives of the amino acid tyrosine,
secreted by the thyroid (thyroxine and
triiodothyronine) and the adrenal medullae
(epinephrine and norepinephrine). There are no
known polysaccharides or nucleic acid
hormones.
Polypeptide and Protein Hormones Are Stored in
Secretory Vesicles Until Needed.
Most of the hormones in the body are polypeptides
and proteins. These hormones range in size from
small peptides with as few as 3 amino acids
(thyrotropin-releasing hormone) to proteins with
almost 200 amino acids (growth hormone and
prolactin). In general, polypeptides with 100 or more
amino acids are called proteins, and those with fewer
than 100 amino acids are referred to as peptides.
Protein and peptide hormones are synthesized
on the rough end of the endoplasmic reticulum
of the different endocrine cells, in the same
fashion as most
other proteins . They are usually synthesized
first as larger proteins that are not biologically
active (preprohormones) and are cleaved to
form smaller prohormones in the endoplasmic
reticulum.
These are then transferred to the Golgi apparatus for
packaging into secretory vesicles. In this process,
enzymes in the vesicles cleave the prohormones to
produce smaller, biologically active hormones and
inactive fragments. The vesicles are stored within the
cytoplasm, and many are bound to the cell membrane
until their secretion is needed. Secretion of the
hormones (as well as the inactive fragments) occurs
when the secretory vesicles fuse with the cell
membrane and the granular contents are extruded
into the interstitial fluid or directly into the blood
stream by exocytosis.
In many cases, the stimulus for exocytosis is an
increase in cytosolic calcium concentration caused by
depolarization of the plasma membrane. In other
instances, stimulation of an endocrine cell surface
receptor causes increased cyclic adenosine
monophosphate
(cAMP) and subsequently activation of protein
kinases that initiate secretion of the hormone. The
peptide hormones are water soluble, allowing them
to enter the circulatory system easily, where they are
carried to their target tissues.
 Steroid Hormones Are Usually Synthesized from
Cholesterol and Are Not Stored

The chemical structure of steroid hormones

is similar to that of cholesterol, and in most
instances they are synthesized from cholesterol
itself.
The multiple hormone systems play a key role in
regulating almost all body functions, including

metabolism,
growth and development,
water and electrolyte balance,
 reproduction, and
 behavior
For instance,

without growth hormone, a person would be a dwarf.

Without thyroxine and triiodothyronine from the
thyroid gland, almost all the chemical reactions of the
body would become sluggish, and the person would
become sluggish as well.
Without insulin from the pancreas, the body’s cells could
use little of the food carbohydrates for energy.
 And without the sex hormones, sexual development and
sexual functions would be absent.
 Hormone Secretion, Transport,
and Clearance from the Blood
Onset of Hormone Secretion After a Stimulus, and
Duration of Action of Different Hormones
Some hormones, such as
norepinephrine and epinephrine, are secreted
within
seconds after the gland is stimulated, and they may
develop full action within another few seconds to
minutes
the actions of other hormones, such as thyroxine
or growth hormone, may require months for
full effect.Thus, each of the different hormones has
its own characteristic onset and duration of action—
each tailored to perform its specific control
function.
 Concentrations of Hormones in the Circulating
Blood, and Hormonal
Secretion Rates

The concentrations of hormones

required to control most metabolic and endocrine
functions are incredibly small. Their concentrations
in the blood range from as little as 1 picogram (which
is one millionth of one millionth of a gram) in each
milliliter of blood up to at most a few micrograms of
neural pathways involved in controlling hormone
release.
 Transport of Hormones in the
Blood
Water-soluble hormones (peptides and
catecholamines) are dissolved in the plasma and
transported from their sites of synthesis to target
tissues, where they diffuse out of the capillaries,
into the interstitial fluid, and ultimately to target
cells.
Steroid and thyroid hormones, in contrast, circulate
in the blood mainly bound to plasma proteins. Usually
less than 10 per cent of steroid or thyroid hormones in
the plasma exist free in solution. For example, more
than 99 per cent of the thyroxine in the blood is bound
to plasma proteins. However, protein-bound hormones
cannot easily diffuse across the capillaries and
gain access to their target cells and are therefore biologically
inactive until they dissociate from plasma proteins
The relatively large amounts of hormones bound to
proteins serve as reservoirs, replenishing the concentration
of free hormones when they are bound to
target receptors or lost from the circulation. Binding
of hormones to plasma proteins greatly slows their
clearance from the plasma.