Unit 6 – Endocrine System Objectives and Guided Reading Questions
Course Objectives: Students will be able to…
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Describe the basic composition of the endocrine system
Describe how hormones work
Describe the basic function of Endocrine secretions
Describe how negative feedback works
Distinguish between the two different types of hormones: peptide and lipid, and how each works
List the 10 endocrine glands found in humans
Describe the hormones produced by each and the role of each hormone
Understand the pathology and aging of the endocrine system
Guiding Questions: Chapter 7
Endocrine: Overview
1. What glands comprise the endocrine system? What do they produce?
2. Once endocrine secretions are released, where are they deposited? How does this differ from exocrine
secretions?
3. Endocrine secretions are what type of signals?
Endocrine: Hormone Function
1. How do hormones work?
2. What is the function of a ligand?
3. What is the function of carrier proteins?
4. What is an effector?
Endocrine: Secretions
1. How are endocrine glands different from exocrine glands?
2. How do endocrine secretions “know” where to go once they’re secreted?
3. How are autocrine secretions different from paracrine secretions?
4. Do endocrine usually target cells that are close to the point of origin of the secretion or far from it?
5. What type of feedback loop does the endocrine system “use” to control the body? Give an example of one.
Endocrine: Types of Hormones
1. What is the function of a hormone?
2. What is an agonist? What is its function?
3. What is an antagonist? What is its function?
4. What are the two types of hormones? What are their functions?
Endocrine: The Human Endocrine Glands
1. How many distinct endocrine glands are there?
2. Which gland is the “master gland?”
3. Describe the anatomy, and the location, of the pituitary gland.
4. What are releasers and how do they function?
5. How is the posterior pituitary controlled?
6. Where is the pineal gland located, and what hormones does it produce?
7. Describe the anatomy of the adrenal gland and name its parts.
8. Describe the location and the function of the adrenal gland.
9. Where is the thyroid located? How does it control metabolic rate?
10. Is the pancreas an endocrine gland and/or an exocrine gland?
11. Describe the cellular organization of the pancreas. What cells are responsible for the endocrine role of the
pancreas? What endocrine secretions do these cells produce, and what is the purpose of those secretions?
12. Where is the pancreas located?
13. Where is the thymus gland? What does it secrete? What does the thymus gland control?
14. What are gonads? What do they do?
15. Identify the female gonads, their location, and what they produce.
16. Identify the male gonads, their location, and what they produce.
17. Describe the function of testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone.
Endocrine: Pathology of the Endocrine System
1. How would one know if the endocrine system is affected by disease?
Endocrine: Aging of the Endocrine System
1. What happens to hormones as a person ages?
2. What can people do to counteract the effects of an aging endocrine system?