chp16

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to the endocrine and nervous systems, focusing on hormones, signaling, and regulatory mechanisms.

Endocrine System

A regulatory system that uses hormones to control and coordinate various functions in the body.

Hormones

Chemical messengers secreted by glands in the endocrine system that regulate bodily functions.

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals that transmit signals across a synapse from one neuron to another.

Autocrine Signaling

Type of signaling where a cell secretes a chemical that binds to receptors on its own surface.

Paracrine Signaling

Type of signaling where a cell secretes a chemical that affects nearby cells.

Water Soluble Hormones

Hormones that cannot pass through cell membranes and have their receptors on the cell surface.

Lipid Soluble Hormones

Hormones that can pass through cell membranes and typically have their receptors inside the cell.

Negative Feedback

A regulatory mechanism where a change causes a response that counteracts the initial change.

Positive Feedback

A regulatory mechanism that amplifies a response or increase in a process.

Pituitary Gland

An endocrine gland that releases hormones regulating various functions and other endocrine glands.

ADH (Antidiuretic Hormone)

A hormone that promotes water reabsorption in kidneys, decreasing urine production.

Oxytocin

A hormone that stimulates uterine contractions during childbirth and milk ejection during breastfeeding.

Glands

Organs in the endocrine system that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.

Half-Life

The time required for a quantity to reduce to half its initial value, often used in the context of hormone levels.

Target Cells

Cells that have receptors for a specific hormone and are capable of responding to its signals.

Humoral Stimuli

Stimuli that trigger the release of hormones based on changes in nutrient levels or ion concentrations in blood.

Neural Stimuli

Stimuli that trigger hormone release via direct nerve stimulation.

Permissiveness

A situation where one hormone must be present for another hormone to exert its full effect.

Synergism

When two or more hormones work together to produce an effect greater than what each could produce alone.

Antagonism

When one hormone opposes the action of another hormone.