Developmental

Aspects of
Endocrine System
By: Monali Desai and
Sarah Whittington

Location
The

pituitary gland comes from

epithelium of the oral cavity and a
neural tissue projection of the
hypothalamus
Most epithelial glands develop as little
saclike pockets made from the epithelial
made by the digestive tract. For
example: thyroid, thymus, and
pancreas.

Menopause
Many

endocrine organs work properly

until old age
In middle age years, the ovary efficiency
starts to decline
The ability to create life ends
Estrogen declines

Effects of Menopause
Changes

in the operation of the

sympathetic nervous system occurs and
cause hot flashes
Fatigue, nervousness, mood swings, and
depression could be side effects

Hormone Productivity Declines

Growth hormone output by the anterior
pituitary declines
It is assumed that the anterior pituitary target
organs also become less productive because
the anterior pituitary affects many other
glands through its tropic hormones
All older people have some decline in insulin
production
Adult-onset diabetes is most common in the
elderly.

Summary
Efficiency

of he endocrine system
remains high until old age
Menopause leads increased chance of
heart disease and osteoporosis

Adrenal
Medulla
By: Kevin Thomas and
Anna Grace Chalmers

Function
The

adrenal medulla is not essential to

life, but helps a person in coping with
physical and emotional stress

Location
The

adrenal medulla is located on top of

both the kidneys

Hormones Produced
The

adrenal medulla produces the

hormones catecholamines, epinephrine,
norepinephrine, and dopamine

Target Organs
The

target organs of the hormones

produced by the adrenal medulla are
the heart, blood vessels, and smooth
muscles

Influence of the Hormones

Catecholamines-

Dopamine, epinephrine,
and norepinephrine are all catecholamines
Epinephrine- Causes an increase in heart
race, muscle stength, blood pressure, and
sugar metabolism (fight-or-flight response)
Norepinephrine- Increases the rate of
contractions in the heart
Dopamine- Involved in movement,
motivation, reward, and addiction

Hormones that Stimulate the

Gland
When

the hypothalamus produces

corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH),
it stimulates the pituitary gland to
release adrenal corticotrophic hormone
(ACTH). These hormones, in turn, alert
the adrenal glands to produce
corticosteroid hormones

Disorders
Pathology

within the adrenal medulla is

primarily because of neoplasms
The most common tumor is called
phaeochromocytoma that originates
from chromaffin cells and excretes
catecholamines
Those tumours found in extra-adrenal
chromaffin cells are sometimes referred
to as secreting paragangliomas

Other Hormone
Producing Tissues
and Organs

Beside the major endocrine organs, pockets of

hormone-producing cells are found in the walls of
the small intestine, stomach, kidneys, and heartorgans whose chief functions have little to do with
hormone production.

Hormones

Gastrin: Stomach, stimulus for food.

Intestinal Gastrin: Duodenum, stimulus for food.
Secretin: Duodenum, Stimulus for food.
Cholecystokinin (CCK): Duodenum, stimulus for food.
Erythropolentin: Kidney, stimulus for Hypoxia.
Active Vitamin D3: Kidney, stimulus for PTH.
Atrial natriurectic peptide (ANP): Heart, stimulus for
stretching of heart.

Placenta:
a

remarkable organ formed temporarily in the

uterus of pregnant women.
-Produces hormones that help maintain the
pregnancy and pave the way for delivery of the
baby

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin

(hCG)
Gonadotropin

human chorionic (HcG), is a hormone

in which during early pregnancy is produced by the
conceptus and then by the fetal part of the placenta.
-Stimulates the corpus luteum of the ovary to
continue producing estrogen and progesterone so that
the lining of the uterus is not sloughed off in menses.
Helps get fats from the mother and gives them to the
baby.

A Few Other Organs Include

Heart

(cardiovascular system)
Stomach (digestive system)
Duodenum
Liver
Skin (Integumentary System)
Adipose tissue

Adrenal
Cortex
Tyler Anderson, Carly
Dorn, Kyu Yeldell

What Does it do?

Produces

hormones that are vital to life,

cortisol is one of the hormones that it
produces which helps regulate
metabolism and helps the body respond
to stress. Adrenaline helps the body
reacts to stress.
Located on top of the kidneys

How does it effect the Body

It

effects how all organs react to stress

and helps you deal with the stress. It
also regulates cortisol levels.
If cortisol levels get to high in the blood
you will gain weight and if they get to
low it will affect your brain, thyroid,
blood sugar, and overall health.

Hormones
ACTH is a pituitary hormone that stimulates
the adrenal cortex to release cortisol
Cortisol is called (stress Hormone) regulates
and influences changes that occur in your
body in response to stress like blood sugar
When the level of glucocorticoids get too
high fats are broken down and converted to
sugar and that is why glucocorticoids are
called hypoglycemic hormones.

Testicles
by: Daniel Sheek and Mariah Rogers

What are testicles?

Oval shaped organs secured at either end
by a structure called the spermatic chord
Located in a sac outside the pelvic cavity
Male gonads

What do testicles do?

Creates growth and maturation of male
reproductive system
Produces testosterone
Transports sperm and protective fluid within the
female reproductive tract

What effect does testosterone

have?
Causes development of male sex characteristics
Growth of beard, development of heavy bones
and muscles, and lowering of the voice

Assorted info on testicles

Anterior pituitary gonadotropic hormones
stimulate the gland
Men can have hyposecretion and they will
become sterile

Interesting facts
Testicles double in size during sex
Squeezing testicles too tight can cause the body
to release a deadly amount of adrenaline

Disorders of the Pancreas

By:Ciera Richards, Griffen Gurley, Maddie Scott

Pancreas
The pancreas is located across the back of the
abdomen, behind the stomach.
Its purpose is to produce several important
hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and
somatostatin.
It Helps with digestion in the
small intestines.

Disorders

Diabetes: Type 1
This type of diabetes is inherited and it is when
the immune system attacks and destroys the
insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.
Insulin injections are required everyday to
control blood sugar.

Diabetes: Type 2
This type of diabetes is caused when a person
eats too much sugar and causes a person to lose
the ability to produce and release insulin.This
would also resist insulin.
A person with this would have sudden increases
in blood pressure.

Cystic Fibrosis
This is a genetic disorder
that usually affects the
lungs and pancreas.
This can often result in
Diabetes or digestive
problems.

Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis even
when diagnosed early. It is highly lethal.
It spreads rapidly, the symptoms are weight loss
and back pain.
The only way to get rid of Pancreatic Cancer is to
surgically remove it.

Pancreatitis
This is inflammation in the pancreas
May be caused by gallstones, which block the
pancreatic ducts outlet.
You can either have acute pancreatitis or chronic
pancreatitis.
With acute pancreatitis you will have upper
abdominal pain over several days.

 With Chronic Pancreatitis, this is when it does not

heal and can get worse over time in result of
permanent pancreatic damage.
The most common cause of this disorder is alcohol
misuse.

Islet Cell Tumor:

The hormone-producing cells of the pancreas
multiply abnormally, creating a benign or
cancerous tumor.
These tumors produce excess amounts of
hormones and then release them into the blood.
Gastrinomas, glucagonomas, and insulinomas
are examples of islet cell tumors.
Symptoms:
Abdominal Pain
Diarrhea
Ulcers in the stomach
Vomiting Blood

Enlarged Pancreas:
An enlarged pancreas may mean nothing, you
may simply have a pancreas that is larger than
normal. Or, it can be because an anatomic
abnormality.
But other causes of an enlarged pancreas may
exist and require treatment (ex. pancreatic
cancer)

Pancreas
By: Harriet Ward and Rachel Darby

What does it do?

The pancreas regulates blood
sugar and plays an important
role in digestion.
It is located close to the
stomach in the abdominal
cavity.
It produces insulin and
glucagon hormones.

Insulin and Glucagon

Beta cells release insulin, Alpha cells release
glucagon
Insulin and glucagon are opposites and work
together to balance blood sugar.
Insulin takes sugar from the blood and into the
cells for fuel, and glucagon takes sugar from fat
and muscles and puts it into the bloodstream
when the blood sugar is low.

Effects and Hormones

The pancreas effects all the body cells.
The pancreas allows body cells to take more
glucose in or out.
Glucocorticoid is the hormone affected by the
pancreas.

Interesting Facts
The word pancreas comes from the Greek
language. Pan means all and Kreas means meat.
Baking soda is also produced by the pancreas.
The pancreas has its own version of taste buds.

Pineal and thymus

glands

The Pineal Gland

Function- releases melatonin which helps the body
recognize when it is time to sleep and regulates
certain reproductive hormones
Location- behind the third cerebral ventricle of the
brain

Fun Facts:
the pineal
gland is
known as
the third
eye

Diseases
Tumors of the pineal gland can result in
compression of the cerebral aqueduct causing
parinauds syndrome which inhibits eye
movement

Thymus
Function- controls metabolism and secretes
hormones that are commonly referred to as
humoral factors that are important during puberty
Location- Behind the sternum

The thymus gland is only active during puberty and

after puberty it starts to slowly shrink and
becomes replaced by fat

Diseases
hypersensitivity, immunodeficiency, DiGeorge
syndrome, SCID, HIV/AIDS, autoimmune disease,
Cancer, thymomas, lymphomas, thymectomy

Parathyroid
Gland
By Noah and Ross

Function
The Function of the Parathyroid Gland is to
secrete parathyroid hormone, which is the most
important regulator of calcium ion homeostasis
of the blood.

Location of the Parathyroid

Gland
The Parathyroid Glands are located on the
posterior surface of the Thyroid Gland.

Parathyroid hormone
The parathyroid gland secretes parathyroid
hormones that helps raise blood calcium levels

Target Organs of the

Parathyroid
The target organs of the Parathyroid Glands are
the Kidneys, the Skeleton, and Intestine.

How does it do it?

The Parathyroid Hormone
increases blood calcium
levels in three ways
Bone Breakdown
o Kidneys absorb more
calcium
o Intestine absorb more
calcium also
o

Pituitary Hormones
No direct effect of the Pituitary Hormones on the
Parathyroid Gland.

Disorders
If Blood Calcium levels fall too low, neurons
become extremely irritable and overactive. It
causes uncontrollable muscle spasms that may
be fatal.

Adrenal Diseases
By: Kayci Chrisley, Brooke Haynie, and Amber Lee

Addisons Disease
Can affect anyone at any age
Develops when the adrenal cortex fails to produce enough
cortisol and aldosterone
Also could be to due a problem with the signals the brain sends
to the adrenals telling them to produce more cortisol

Adrenal Cancer
usually occurs in adults
malignant adrenal tumors are rarely confined to
the adrenal glands, spreading to other organs
potentially curable at early stages
causes adverse changes within the body due to
excessive production of hormones

Cushings Syndrome
An uncommon condition caused by the
overproduction of the hormone cortisol
Could be caused by a tumor in the adrenal gland
or in the pituitary gland

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia

low levels of cortisol
additional hormone problems such as low levels
of aldosterone is common in those affected