Topic 22-The adrenal gland and other endocrine structures
Need to know where the adrenal glands are : Adrenal glands sit on the superior surfaces of the kidneys They are protected by a fibrous capsule and outside of that is a padding of fat They are very precious glands. If theyre removed, your life would be extremely shortened as youre unable to have those key hormones from the adrenal glands. It is a package of two glands in one: the inner part is the adrenal medulla and it is actually a ganglion in the sympathetic nervous system. It arises from the neurectoderm (The region of embryonic ectoderm that develops into the brain and spinal cord as well as into the nervous tissue of the peripheral nervous system) which is like a little sandwich of three different layers and one layer gives rise to the nervous system and various connections to the nervous system. Part of it gives rise to the centre of the adrenal gland, the adrenal medulla. The adrenal medulla is part of the nervous system and also an endocrine gland.
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The adrenal cortex develops from a different layer: mesoderm which also gives rise to the muscles and bones and blood CT This part of adrenal gland synthesizes and releases aldosterone, small amount of sex hormone (in other words, females are producing small amounts of male sex hormones and the males are producing small amounts of female sex hormone) but the one were going to concentrate on is called the glucocorticoids. The main purpose of the whole gland is helping dealing with stress. Physical stress and short term acute stress tends to activate the adrenal medulla and you get adrenaline and nonadrenaline. Long term stress activates the release of glucocorticoids.
The gland is divided into three layers and each layer has specific cells which synthesize and release specific hormones The outer layer is called the zone glomerulosa and is responsible for the production of aldosterone. Aldosterone is a key player in controlling our bodys level of sodium and secondarily of potassium Recall that water follow sodium across boundaries because of osmosis. Aldosterone controls sodium balance and water balance, blood pressure and various other aspects of cardiovascular function
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Zona Faciculata Just remember that the adrenal cortex is divided into three layers, each responsible for producing different hormones. We have aldosterone and cortisol( main glucocorticoids and androgens (male hormone) and theres a tiny little female hormones as well. The adrenal medulla, an extension of the autonomic nervous system, secretes adrenaline and nonadrenaline
The hormones that are produced by the adrenal cortex are built onto the cholesterol molecule, which is a lipid. It is fat soluble, hydrophobic. Therefore, these substances will dissolve in lipids but not in water. The basic building block is cholesterol molecule. Just by adding different chemical groups you get different hormones. The basic structure is very much the same.
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Aldosterone encourages the reabsorption of sodium ions from the urine Basically, we filter our plasma at the beginning of the kidney tubule system and ions and small dissolved molecules such as glucose, iron, sodium start to be filtered out. But we have the capacity to pull back what we really need. So if the sodium levels in our body is falling, blood pressure is falling, aldosterone will cause sodium to be pulled back into the plasma to compensate for that. Whereas antidiuretic hormones pull water back, aldosterone pulls back sodium and because of osmotic drag, water will follow. For instance, if your blood pressure is falling, aldosterone will be released and will act on renal tubules and sodium gets pulled back into the blood. Water will follow. The plasma volume is then increased and so will the blood pressure.
When sodium is reabsorbed from the urine, potassium is excreted in exchange so that the charge is kept in balance. So this hormone also helps our body control the amount of potassium, which tremendously important if you remember the action potential and hyperpolarization. We need to keep potassium and sodium concentrations in a very fine range in order to establish the resting membrane potential. Sodium is important to that, in relation to plasma volume and blood pressure control.
Cortisol Helps the body to resist stress together with insulin, glycogen, growth hormone regulates blood glucose Maintains blood volume and prevents water shift into tissues and cardiac pumping activity Used therapeutically to suppress the immune response and inflammation- if somebody has Rheumatoid arthritis, you can use steroids to suppress the immune response. If someone has a short-term or life-threatening allergy they can also be put on steroids dampen down immune responses
If our blood sugar is falling, cortisol stimulates the liver to make glucose It helps break down the fats stored within our adipose
It breaks down protein if you have too much cortisol you might have problems in that muscle proteins are broken down as well It is one of the hormones that maintains the arteriolar tone and blood pressure It is also involved in the development of the foetus It even improves the efficiency of the kidneys as a filter
Cortisol also: Decreases inflammation by suppressing the immune response Modulates mood If you have too much cortisol because, for example, if you have a tumour of the adrenal gland or are given for medical reasons high doses of cortisol, you become very depressed or occasionally it can escalate into psychosis. All the points that have been marked with asterisks are not the normal effects of cortisol, those are what happens when there is too much cortisol When theres too much cortisol, the muscle mass will decrease as the muscle proteins are broken down You will also get bone resorption, leading to weak bones (osteoporosis) Youll also have difficultly making strong connective tissues
