CHAPTER 13: ENDOCRINE SYSTEM STUDY GUIDE

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering key terms, mechanisms of hormone action, gland regulation, stress responses, and life-span changes from Chapter 13.

Endocrine glands

Glands that secrete main hormones to maintain homeostasis and control substances, distinguished in Chapter 13 from exocrine glands.

Exocrine glands

A category of glands that must be distinguished from endocrine glands in the study of the endocrine system.

Target cell

A cell possessing specific characteristics that make it responsive to the actions of a hormone.

Hormones

Substances categorized by chemical composition that carry out basic functions, affect target cells, maintain homeostasis, and control important chemicals and substances.

Steroid hormones

Hormones defined by chemical composition that use specific steps, mechanisms, and chemicals to affect target cells, reacting distinctively with the cell membrane and nucleus.

Nonsteroid hormones

Hormones categorized by chemical composition that differ from steroid hormones in how they react with the cell membrane and nucleus, and include the type requiring cAMP.

cAMP

A chemical required by a specific type of hormone to carry out its mechanism of action on target cells.

Prostaglandin

A chemical secreted by a specific type of gland, characterized by where it acts, the length of time it acts, the amounts needed, and a medically significant relationship with aspirin.

Aspirin

A chemical substance of medical interest due to its specific relationship with prostaglandins.

Hormone regulation

The regulation of hormone secretion governed by three main ways, including negative feedback mechanisms and the nervous system.

Negative feedback mechanisms

Mechanisms that regulate hormone secretion as one of the primary methods of endocrine control.

Nervous system

A bodily system that plays a direct role in controlling hormone secretion.

Tropic hormone

A specific classification of hormone involved in the control of hormone secretion.

Hypothalamus and anterior pituitary gland

Key anatomical structures that play an essential role in hormone control within the endocrine system.

Homeostasis

A state of internal balance maintained by the action of main hormones that control important chemicals and substances.

Cell membrane and nucleus

Cellular structures that exhibit major differences in how they react with steroid hormones versus nonsteroid hormones.

Physical stress

A form of stress that must be distinguished from psychological stress in the study of stress and its endocrine effects.

Psychological stress

A form of stress that must be distinguished from physical stress in the study of endocrine stress responses.

General stress response

A physiological bodily response to stress characterized by a recognizable set of symptoms.

'Fight or fight'

A stress response concept and mechanism addressed under stress effects, specifically studied regarding what it means and how it is controlled.

Long term stress

A prolonged state of stress characterized by specific control mechanisms and recognizable indicators.

Aging of the endocrine system

Life-span changes that encompass major physiological modifications occurring in the endocrine system over time.