NUR1101 – ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

FEU Nursing | First Semester A.Y 2022-2023

7. Control of blood glucose and other nutrients
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM 8. Control of reproductive functions
➔ Composed of endocrine glands and specialized endocrine 9. Stimulation of uterine contraction and milk release
cells located throughout the body. 10. Modulation of immune system function
➔ Endocrine glands and cells secrete minute amounts of
chemical messengers called hormones into the TYPES OF HORMONES
bloodstream, rather than into a duct. 1) Water-soluble hormones
➔ Hormones then travel through the general blood circulation • Include proteins, peptides, amino acids
to target tissues or effectors. • Most common type of hormone
• Examples - growth hormone, antidiuretic, prolactin
CHARACTERISTICS
a. Target tissues have receptors for a specific hormone 2) Lipid-soluble hormones
b. Hormones produce a particular response in the target • Include steroids and eicosanoids
tissues
• Examples - Luteinizing hormone, androgens

Control of Hormone Secretion

o Blood-borne chemicals can directly stimulate the release
of some hormones.
o These chemicals are referred to as humoral stimuli
because they circulate in the blood,
o Humoral refers to body fluids, including blood.
o Hormone release can also be under neural control.
o Following action potentials, neurons release a
neurotransmitter into the synapse with the cells that
produce the hormone.
o Hormone release can also be controlled by other
hormones.
o It occurs when a hormone is secreted that, in turn,
stimulates the secretion of other hormones.
o The same three types of stimuli (humoral, neural, and
hormonal) can stimulate or inhibit hormone release.

Control by Humoral Stimuli

CLASSES OF CHEMICAL MESSENGERS

a. Autocrine
- Released by cells and a have local effect on same
cell type
- Example – eicosanoids

b. Paracrine
- Released by cells that affect other cell types in close
proximity
- Example – somatostatin

Endocrine System Functions:

1. Regulation of metabolism
2. Control of food intake and digestion
3. Modulation of tissue development
4. Regulation of ion levels
Control by Neural Stimuli
5. Control of water balance

6. Regulation of cardiovascular function

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NUR1101 – ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
FEU Nursing | First Semester A.Y 2022-2023
Control by Hormonal Stimuli
Inhibition of Hormone Release
o Humoral inhibition of hormone release generally involves
the actions of companion hormones.
o Usually each of the companion hormones performs an
opposite function.
o For example, to raise blood pressure, the adrenal cortex
secretes the hormone aldosterone in response to low
blood pressure, but to lower it the heart atria secrete
atrial natriuretic peptide.
o They work together to maintain homeostasis of blood
pressure.
o Neurons inhibit targets just as often as they stimulate
targets.
o If the neurotransmitter is inhibitory, the target endocrine
gland does not secrete its hormone.
o In control of hormone release by other hormones, some
hormones are inhibitory hormones, that reduce the
release of the hormone being controlled.
o For example, thyroid hormones can control their own
blood levels by inhibiting their anterior pituitary tropic
hormone.
Regulation of Blood Hormone Levels
o Two major mechanisms maintain hormone levels in the
blood within a homeostatic range: negative feedback and
positive feedback
o Most hormones are regulated by a negative-feedback
mechanism, whereby the hormone’s secretion is
inhibited by the hormone itself once blood levels have
reached a certain point.
o Some hormones are regulation by positive feedback, as
exemplified by tropic hormone action.
Negative and Positive Feedback
Hormone Receptors and Mechanisms of Action
o A hormone can stimulate only the cells that have the
receptor for that hormone.
o The portion of each receptor molecule where a hormone
binds is called a receptor site.
o The receptor site has specificity, allowing only one
hormone to bind to it.
o Some hormones, such as epinephrine, can bind to a
“family” of receptors that are structurally similar.
o This specificity is due to molecular shape and chemical
characteristics
o Lipid-soluble and water-soluble hormones bind to their
own classes of receptors.
o Lipid-soluble hormones bind to nuclear receptors due to
their lipid solubility and small molecular size allowing to
easily pass through the cell membrane.
o Water-soluble hormones bind to membrane-bound
receptors. Water-soluble hormones are polar molecules
and cannot pass through the cell membrane.
Lipid-Soluble Hormone Receptors
o Nuclear receptors can also be located in the cytoplasm,
but then move to the nucleus when activated.
o When hormones bind to nuclear receptors, the hormone-
receptor complex interacts with nuclear DNA to regulate
specific gene transcription
Water-Soluble Receptors
o Water-soluble hormones, such as protein and peptide
types, cannot pass through the cell membrane.
o Interactions are with membrane-bound receptors, that
are proteins that extend across the cell membrane, with
their hormone-binding sites exposed on the cell
membrane’s outer surface.
o When the hormone binds to the receptor, it turns on
intracellular enzymes that ultimately cause the response
dictated by the hormone-receptor interaction.
Action of Nuclear Receptors
o Lipid-soluble hormones stimulate protein synthesis.
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NUR1101 – ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
FEU Nursing | First Semester A.Y 2022-2023
o Lipid-soluble hormones diffuse across the cell
membrane and bind to their receptors, with the complex
now binding to hormone-response elements on DNA.
o This action regulates the transcription of specific
messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) molecules and
protein synthesis occurs.
Nuclear Receptor Model
Membrane Bound Receptor Actions
o Membrane bound receptors act in two ways, either
altering the activity of G proteins on the inner surface of
the cell membrane or directly altering the activity of
intracellular enzymes.
o Activation of G proteins, or intracellular enzymes, elicits
specific responses in cells, including the production of
molecules called, second messengers.
o A second messenger molecule is produced inside a cell
once a ligand binds to its membrane-bound receptor.
o A second messenger, such as cyclic adenosine
monophosphate (cAMP), then activates specific cellular
processes inside the cell in response to the hormone.
G-Protein Activation
o Many membrane-bound receptors produce responses
through the action of G proteins, which consist of 3
subunits.
o The G proteins are so named because one of the
subunits binds to guanine nucleotides.
o G-proteins, after several sequential actions, interact with
adenylate cyclase, an enzyme that converts ATP to
cAMP.
o cAMP binds to protein kinases and activates them.
o Protein kinases are enzymes that, in turn, regulate the
activity of other enzymes.
o Depending on the other enzyme, protein kinases can
increase or decrease its activity.
o Phosphodiesterase, an intracellular enzyme, breaks
down cAMP and thus results in no further cell
stimulation.
Cyclic AMP Synthesis
Signal Amplification
o Hormones that stimulate the synthesis of second
messengers act quickly and have an amplification effect.
o Each receptor produces thousands of second
messengers, leading to a cascade effect and ultimately
amplification of the hormonal signal.
o With amplification, a single hormone activates many
second messengers, each of which activates enzymes
that produce an enormous amount of final product.
o The efficiency of this second-messenger amplification is
virtually unparalleled in the body.
PITUITARY GLAND
• Small gland in brain
• Controlled by hypothalamus
• Divided into 2 regions: anterior and posterior
• Secretes at least 6 hormones
Hypothalamic Control of the Anterior Pituitary Gland
➔ The anterior pituitary gland synthesizes hormones under
the control of the hypothalamus.
➔ Neurons of the hypothalamus secrete releasing hormones
that stimulate the production and secretion of a specific
hormone.
➔ Inhibiting hormones decrease the secretion of a specific
anterior pituitary hormone
Hypothalamic Control of the Posterior Pituitary
➔ The posterior pituitary gland stores and releases
hormones produced by neuroendocrine cells in the
hypothalamus.
➔ The two hormones released from the posterior pituitary are
antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and oxytocin.
Anterior Pituitary Hormones
A. Growth Hormone
o Target tissues: most tissues
o Functions: stimulates growth of bones, muscles,
and organs
o Abnormalities:
▪ Too much GH causes giantism
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NUR1101 – ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
FEU Nursing | First Semester A.Y 2022-2023
▪ Too little GH causes pituitary dwarfism
B. Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
o Target tissues: thyroid gland
o Functions: regulates thyroid gland secretions
o Abnormalities
▪ Too much TSH, thyroid gland enlarges
(goiter)
▪ Too little TSH, thyroid gland shrinks
• Secretes thyroid hormone and calcitonin
• Thyroid hormones secreted by follicular cells:
▪ Target tissues: most tissues
▪ Functions: regulates metabolic rates and is
needed for growth
• Calcitonin secreted by parafollicular cells:
▪ Target tissues: bone and some other tissues
▪ Function: reduces blood calcium level when
high

C. Luteinizing Hormone; LH (Gonadotropin Hormone) Thyroid Gland and Parathyroid Glands

Females:
o Target tissue: ovaries
o Function: promotes ovulation and progesterone
production
Males:
o Target tissue: testes
o Function: production of sperm and testosterone

D. Follicle-Stimulating Hormone; FSH (Gonadotropin

Hormone)
For females:
o Target tissue: follicles in ovaries
o Function: follicle maturation and estrogen
secretion
For males:
o Target tissue: seminiferous tubules (testes)
o Function: sperm production

E. Prolactin
o Target tissues: mammary glands and ovaries
o Functions: milk production

F. Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (MSH)

o Target tissues: melanocytes in the skin
o Functions: stimulate melanin production in
Thyroid Hormone Disorders:
melanocytes
a. Hypothyroidism
➢ Decreased metabolism
G. Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH)
➢ Weight gain, reduced appetite, fatigue
o Target tissues: cells of adrenal cortex
➢ Low temp. and pulse
o Functions: stimulate production of certain
➢ Dry, cold skin
corticosteroids
➢ Myxedema in adults
➢ Cretinism in infants
Posterior Pituitary Hormones
A. Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH)
b. Hyperthyroidism
o Target tissues: kidneys
➢ Increased metabolism
o Functions: conserve water
➢ Weight loss, increased appetite, nervousness
o Abnormalities: Diabetes insipidus
➢ Higher temp. and pulse
▪ Low ADH
➢ Warm, flushed skin
▪ Kidneys to produce large amounts of
➢ Graves’ disease (leads to goiter)
dilute
▪ (watery) urine
PARATHYROID GLAND
▪ Can lead to dehydration and thirst
B. Oxytocin Parathyroid hormone (PTH)
o Target tissues: uterus o Target tissues: bones and kidneys
o Functions: increases uterine contractions during o Functions: regulates blood Ca2+ levels (more than
labor calcitonin)

THYROID GLAND If Ca2+ is low, then osteoclasts break down bone matrix and
less Ca2+ is lost in urine.
• One of largest glands
• Requires iodine to function If Ca2+ is high, then osteoclasts don’t break down bone

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NUR1101 – ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
FEU Nursing | First Semester A.Y 2022-2023
matrix and more Ca2+ is lost in urine.

ADRENAL GLAND
• The adrenal glands are two small glands located
superior to each kidney
• Each adrenal gland has an inner part, called the adrenal
medulla, and an outer part, called the adrenal cortex.
• The adrenal medulla and the adrenal cortex function as
separate endocrine glands.

Adrenal Medulla Hormones:

a. Epinephrine/Norepinephrine
o Target tissues: heart, blood vessels, liver, fat
cells
o Functions: released as part of fight or flight
response

Regulation of Adrenal Medullary Secretions

c. Androgens
o Target tissues: most tissues
o Functions:
▪ Males: secondary sexual
characteristics
▪ Females: sex drive

PANCREAS
• The islets consist of three cell types, each of which
secretes a separate hormone.
• Alpha cells secrete glucagon, beta cells secrete
insulin, and delta cells secrete somatostatin.
• These three hormones regulate the blood levels of
nutrients, especially glucose.

Pancreas Hormones
Adrenal Cortex Hormones
a. Insulin
a. Aldosterone
o Target tissues: liver, skeletal muscle,
o Type of mineralocorticoid
adipose tissue
o Target tissues: kidneys
o Functions:
o Functions: regulate ion balance, causes Na+
▪ Regulates blood glucose levels
and H2O to be retained and K+ to be
▪ After a meal glucose levels are high
secreted, indirectly involved with blood
and insulin is secreted
pressure and blood volume
▪ Extra glucose is stored in form of
glycogen
b. Cortisol
o Type of glucocorticoid
Insulin abnormalities:
o Target tissues: most
Diabetes mellitus
o Functions: increases breakdown of fat and
➢ Causes: too little insulin or faulty insulin receptors
protein for energy uses reduces
➢ Symptoms: hyperglycemia, exaggerated appetite,
inflammatory and immune responses
excess urine, dehydration, thirst, fatigue
➢ Type I: insulin dependent (daily injections required)
Regulation of Cortisol Secretion
➢ Type II: insulin independent, often found in obese
people, can be treated with diet but can turn into type I
b. Glucagon
o Target tissues: liver
o Function:
▪ Regulates blood glucose levels
▪ Between meals glucose levels drop
and glucagon is secreted
▪ Glucagon allows glycogen to be
broken down into glucose
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NUR1101 – ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
FEU Nursing | First Semester A.Y 2022-2023

Testes Hormone
Testosterone:
o Target tissues: most tissues
o Functions: aids in sperm and reproductive organ
development and function

Ovarian Hormones
Estrogen/Progesterone:
o Target tissues: most tissues
o Functions: involved in uterine and mammary gland
development and menstrual cycle

Thymus Gland Hormone

Thymosin:
o Target tissues: immune system tissues
o Functions: promotes immune system development
and function

Pineal Gland Hormone

Melatonin:
o Target tissues: hypothalamus
o Functions: plays a role in onset of puberty and
controls circadian rhythms. Light affects its function.

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