Endocrine Flashcards
(94 cards)
What is the structure of the Endocrine System
- Derived from neural ectoderm
- Strong association with vascular and neural tissue
- Organs include:
- Pituitary gland
- Thyroid gland
- Parathyroid gland
- Adrenal gland
- Gonads
- Endocrine pancreas
- Cemoreceptor organs
- Pineal gland
- Adipose tissue
What is the function of the Endocrine System
Maintain homeostasis
How does the endocrine system maintain homeostasis?
- Hormone are the mediators of homeostasis
- Polypptides
- Steroids
- Catecholamines and iodothyronines
- Feedback systems regulate most hormone concentrations
- Hypothalamus → pituitary → Target tissue axis
- Some Hormonesrespond to plasma concentrations of vrious products or nervous stimuli
- Thyroid C-cells, Parathyroid Cheif cells, adrenal medulla
What are the different types of dysfunction of the Endocrine System?
- Increaed function
- Decreased function
What are the types of increased function of the Endocrine System?
- Primary hyperfunction
- increasd hormone secretion by an abnormal gland
- Secondary hyperfunction
- Increased hormone secretion by a normal endocrine gland that is excessively stimulated
What are the types of decreased function of the Endocrine System?
- Primary hypofunction
- decreased hormone secretion by an abnormal glad
- Seconday hypofunction
- Decreased hormone secretion by a normal endocrine gland that is inadequately stimulated
What is the pattern of disease seen in the endocrine system?
- Metabolic processes are altered with any enocrine abnormality
- Neoplasia is the most common pathology pattern
- Cell adaptation is fairly common; atrophy, hyperplasia
- Immunopathology (autoimmunity) is relatively common as a pattern of endocrine disease
- Developmental, cell injury, vascular disturbanes and inflammation are less common patterns associated with endocrine disease
What are the causes of disease in the Endocrine System?
- Genetic alterations are important as predisposing factors for neoplasia, immunopathologic and developmental endocrine diseases
- Nutritional factors can have significant impact on hormone-regulated homeostasis
- Infectious, chemical and physical insults are less common causes of endocrine disease
What is the structure of the pituitary gland?
- Anterior lobe (adenohypophysis)
- Posterior lobe (Neurohypophysis)

What are the parts of the Adenohypophysis and what hormones do they produce?
- “Anterior Lobe”
- Pars dstalis
- acidophils (somatotrophs and Gonadotrophs)
- GH and LTH
- Basophils (Gonadotrophs and Thyrotrophs)
- LH, FSH, and TH
- Chromophobes (Corticotrophs and melaotrophs)
- ATCH and MSH
- acidophils (somatotrophs and Gonadotrophs)
- Pars intermedia
- Melnotrophs
- Pars Tuberalis

What is the structure of the Neurohypophysis?
- “Posterior Lobe”
- Hypothalamic neurosecretory neurons
- Paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei
- ADH and Oxytocin
- Paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei
- Infundibular stalk
- Pars nervosa

What are the functions of the hormones from the Adenohypophysis
- Growth Hormone (somatotrophin)
- regulates growth and metabolism
- Luteotropic Hormone
- Stimulates progesterone secretion
- Luteinizing Hormone
- Stimulates estrogen secretion
- Follicle Stimulating Hormone
- Stimulates ovarian follicle growth and spermatogenesis
- Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (Thyrotrophinc, TSH)
- Stimulats thyroid hormone secretion
- Adrenocorticotrophic Hormone
- Stimulates glucocorticoid secretion
- Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone
- stimulates melanocytes
What are the functions of the hormones from the Neurohypophysis?
- Antidiuretic Hormone
- Regulates water exretion
- Oxytocin
- Stimulates smooth muscle contraction
What are the types of dysfunction of the Pituitary gland?
- Increased Hormone Activity
- Decreased Hormone Activity
What can cause increased hormone activity of the pituitary gland?
- Functional neoplasia
- Increased stimulation by hypothalamus
- Hormone-like substances
What can cause decreased hormone activity of the pituitary gland?
- Destructive lesions
- Non-responsive target cells
What are the pathology patterns seen in the pituitary gland?
- Neoplasia
- functional or non-functional
- Cell adaptaion
- Hyperplasia and atrophy
- Developmental anomalies
- Aplasia, hypoplasia or cysts
- Immunopathology
- Autoimmunity (lymphoplasmacytic hypophysitis)
- Inflammation
- Uncommon
- Metabolic
- All hormonal dysfunctions will result in metabolic alterations
What causes pathology of the pituitary gland?
- Genetic injury
- inherited or acquired
- Infectious agents
- Uncommon
- Nutritional
- Chemical
What is Chromophobe Adenoma in dogs?
- Functional Adenoma
- Neoplastic Chromophobes are unregulated and produce large amounts of ACTH
- Excessive ACTH causes diffuse adrenocortical hyperplasia
- “Hyperadrenocorticism” “Cushing’s Disease”
- Approximately 80-90% of cases of canine hyperadrenocorticism are due to pituitary neoplasia
- Most Common Pituitary tumor of dogs
- Increased frequency in Boston Terriers, Beagles, Boxers, Dachshunds, and Miniature Poodles
- May arise from hyperplastic nodules that mutate to become clonal
-
Microadenoma
- More likely to be functional and produce excess ACTH
-
Macroadenoma
-
Less likely to be functional and act as space-occupying mass
- Hypopituitarism or hypothalamic compression
-
Less likely to be functional and act as space-occupying mass
What is Pars intermedia adenoma?
- Pars intermedia is the second most common location for chromophobe adenoma in dogs
- Can be functional or compressive, just like those from the pars distalis
- Compressive = hypopituitarism or diabetes insipidus due to pressure on the hypothalamus or destruction of the neurohypophysis
- Can be functional or compressive, just like those from the pars distalis
- Pars intermedia dysfunction is the most common endocrine abnormality of horses
- most common in older horses
- Possibly due to age-related oxidative injury of dopaminergic neurons
What is pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction in horses?
- Decreased dopamine production results in increased activity of melanotrophs
- Melanotrophs produce proopiomelanocortin (POMC)
- POMC > ACTH > a-MSH + B-endorphin + corticotrophin-like intermediate peptide
- Signs include increased hair growth (hypertrichosis/hirsutism), increased adipose tissue deposition, weight loss
- Lesions range from diffuse hyperplasia to micro/macro adenoma
-
Hirsutism may be due to increased POMC activity or hypothalamic compression
- Compression can interfere with thermoregulation and appetite centers
-
Melanotrophs are regulated by dopaminergic neurons and not the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis
- Adrenal glands are usually normal
What is somatotroph adenoma?
-
Arise from somatotrophs (Acidophils)
- Uncommon, mainly cats, dogs, sheep
- Functional adenoma (increased growth hormone) in cats
-
Increased production of insulin-like growth factor 1 by the liver
- Growth of soft tissue and bone (acromegaly, mainly facial bones)
- Insulin-resistant diabetes mellitus (Type 2)
-
Increased production of insulin-like growth factor 1 by the liver
- Non-functional adenoma can cause panhypopituitarism and hypothalamic compression
-
Basophil Adenoma
- Rare
What are Pituitary Cysts?
- Mainly in brachycephalic dogs
- Abnomal development in or around the pituitary gland
- Craniopharyngeal duct cyst
- Pharyngeal hypophyseal cyst
- Oropharyngeal ectoderm cyst
- Can compress and damage surrounding structures
What are the types of pituitary cysts?
-
Craniopharyngeal duct cysts
- Diabetes insipidus, pituitary hypofunction
-
Pharyngeal hypophyseal cysts
- Respiratory distress
-
Oropharyngeal ectoderm cysts
- Panhypopituitarism
- Juvenile hypopituitarism in GS