Module 1: The Endocrine System: Learning Objectives
Module 1: The Endocrine System: Learning Objectives
Module 1: The Endocrine System: Learning Objectives
A vast array of body functions are controlled by hormones from the anterior
pituitary gland. This endocrine gland is comprised of many endocrine cell types that
act in large part independent of each other, each producing at least one hormone.
The activity of the gland is controlled by neurohormones called releasing factors
(and release inhibitory factors) that are produced in the hypothalamus. The
releasing factors are secreted into portal blood that travels down the pituitary stalk
to the anterior pituitary gland, where the releasing factors act to stimulate specific
hormone secretion. In turn, many anterior pituitary hormones stimulate a particular
peripheral endocrine gland.
Learning objectives
List the endocrine cells and their corresponding hormones in the anterior
pituitary gland.
Image source: 'Rat Anterior Pituitary'. By jhsteel, Creative Commons, BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia
Commons.
Hypothalamus-Pituitary Axes
Each of the anterior pituitary endocrine cell types acts in large part independent of
each other. That is, they are functionally discrete. Also it is noteworthy that many of
the anterior pituitary hormones act upon another peripheral endocrine gland to
stimulate secretion of other hormones. This is called a tropic effect.
Image source: 'Pituitary Gland Hormones'. By pikovit, Adobe Stock, modified (corrected),
cropped
Hypothalamic-pituitary axes
The gonadotropins (LH and FSH) stimulate the activities of the male and female
gonads. TSH, as its name suggests, acts on thyroid to stimulate the release of
thyroid hormones. ACTH stimulates the production of steroid hormones by adrenal
cortex. Most often, we use the term "axes" when refering to the control of these
endocrine systems.
The other anterior pituitary hormones, GH and PRL, are considered hormones that
act more in their own right (in a non-tropic manner), although for GH this is not
strictly true as we shall discuss later in this module.
Image source: 'Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Axis'. By designua, Adobe Stock, cropped and
modified.
Releasing factors
Image description: Action potentials in the hypothalamic releasing factor neurons result in secretion
of the releasing factors into blood (Step 1). The releasing factors then travel in hypophyseal portal
veins down the rostral surface of the infundibulum to the anterior pituitary gland, where there is a
secondary capillary plexus. The releasing factors then bind to receptors on the anterior pituitary cells
to stimulate hormone release (Step 2). The anterior pituitary hormones are released into general
systemic circulation to act on distant target cells that express specific receptors (Step 3).
Image source: 'The Hypothalamus and Anterior Pituitary Gland'. Access for free at
https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/1-introduction, Modified.
Releasing factors (or releasing hormones) are usually small peptides, and therefore
rapidly metabolised in blood. They are usually not measurable in peripheral systemic
blood. Their sole purpose is to signal via the short distance from the hypothalamus
to the anterior pituitary.
Besides neurohormones that act as releasing factors, there are others that act as
release-inhibiting factors. So, for many anterior pituitary hormones, there is dual
control by both positive and negative regulatory neurohormones from the
hypothalamus.
To find the answer, we need to consider what happens when the hypothalamus is
disconnected from communicating from the pituitary gland. This is called
hypothalamic-pituitary-disconnection (HPD) or 'stalk-section'.
In 2001, there was an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, showing a
picture of a 58 year-old man, that shot himself in the head with a nail gun. You can
find the picture here. You can see that the nail did not enter the man's brain, and
that, as one of his clinicians says, "If the nail had gone a little higher, it would have
taken out his pituitary gland".
POLL
Submit