Endocrine System Practice Flashcards

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the major concepts, diseases, and diagnostic criteria of the endocrine system as presented in the NSG 811 Summer 2025 lecture notes.

Negative-feedback mechanism

A regulatory system where tropic hormone secretion raises the level of a specific hormone, which then causes a decrease in the secretion of that tropic hormone.

Positive-feedback mechanism

Systems in which elevated hormone levels increase a response which then further increases hormone secretion, most commonly seen in reproductive hormones.

Hypothalamic-pituitary axis (HPA)

The structural and functional basis for the central integration of the neurologic and endocrine systems.

Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)

A hormone produced by the anterior pituitary that stimulates the adrenal glands to secrete steroid hormones, principally cortisol.

Graves disease

The most common form of hyperthyroidism, caused by thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins that stimulate TSH receptors, resulting in thyroid hyperplasia and increased TH synthesis.

Myxedema

The characteristic sign of hypothyroidism caused by water-binding proteins in connective tissue, leading to thickened mucous membranes and edema.

Primary hyperparathyroidism

A condition usually caused by a parathyroid adenoma that interrupts regulated calcium and PTH levels, manifesting as chronic hypercalcemia and increased bone resorption.

Hypercalciuria

High calcium in the urine which may present as blood in urine, painful urination, urgency, kidney stones, or irritability in infants.

Diabetes Mellitus Diagnosis Criteria

Based on glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels, and $2$-hour plasma glucose levels during oral glucose tolerance testing (OGTT).

Type 1A Diabetes Mellitus

An immune-mediated type involving genetic susceptibility and the destruction of pancreatic beta cells by autoantibodies, T-cells, and macrophages.

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

A condition triggered by environmental factors, most notably obesity, where insulin production continues but the weight and number of beta cells decrease.

Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA)

A serious complication involving high levels of blood ketones due to insulin deficiency and an increase in counter-regulatory hormones like catecholamines, cortisol, glucagon, and GH.

Cushing syndrome

A disorder characterized by fat deposits in the face (moon face) and between the shoulders (buffalo hump), weight gain in the midsection, and purple striae on the skin.

Addison disease

Adrenal insufficiency characterized by elevated ACTH levels but inadequate corticosteroid synthesis, leading to hypocortisolism and hypoaldosteronism.

Obesity

Defined as a BMI greater than $30\,kg/m^2$ in adults or a BMI at or above the $95^{th}$ percentile of the 2000 CDC growth charts in children.

Long-term starvation

A state that leads to the use of ketone bodies for energy and eventually proteolysis, resulting in death from electrolyte imbalances and loss of renal, pulmonary, and cardiac function.