Adrenal+Glands+Researcher+2

Put your name here: Tiffani Bryden

You and your group will be responsible for putting together a defensive presentation of an endocrine gland. You and your group will be giving this presentation during class. Your presentation must include: · A picture(s) of the gland showing its shape and location in the human body. [] · The hormone(s) produced by your endocrine gland. [] · The stimulus that tells your gland to produce hormones. [] __ http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-adrenal-glands.htm __
 * Task:**

· The control mechanism that tells your gland to stop producing hormones. [] · The function(s) of the hormone(s) produced by your gland. What are the target organs/cells and how does the message carried by the hormone help maintain homeostasis. **This is probably the most important part of your presentation.** []

These sit on top of the kidneys. They consist of two parts, the outer **cortex** and the inner **medulla**. The medulla secretes hormones secreted by adrenal glands which triggers the fight-or-flight response and other similar hormones in response to stressors such as fright, anger, caffeine, or low blood sugar. The cortex secretes **corticosteroids** such as **cortisone**. Corticosteroids are well-known as being anti-inflammatory, thus are prescribed for a number of conditions. However, these are powerful regulators that should be used with caution. Medicinal doses are typically higher than what your body would produce naturally, thus the person’s normal feedback loops suppress natural secretion, and it is necessary to gradually taper off the dosage to trigger the adrenal glands to begin producing on their own again. Because the corticosteroids suppress the immune system, their use can lead to increased susceptibility to infections, yet physicians typically prescribe them for people whose immune systems are hard at work trying to fight off some pathogen. For example, back when I was in grad school, I was diagnosed with mono, and the campus doctor prescribed penicillin and cortisone. Since mono is a virus and penicillin only is effective against some bacteria, about all it did was kill off the friendly bacteria in my body, therefore causing me to develop a bad case of thrush. At the same time, the cortisone was supressing my immune system so my body could not as efficiently fight off the mono and the thrush. People with high blood pressure should be leery of taking prescription corticosteroids: they are known to raise blood pressure, thus can cause things like strokes. My mother-in-law had high blood pressure and was being treated with diuretics. Her physician also had her on large doses of cortisone for her arthritis. While he was on vacation, she started having significant back pain and was referred to an orthopedic surgeon. This man decided the back pain was just due to arthritis, and without carefully checking on what dosage she was already taking, prescribed more cortisone. Simultaneously, because of difficulty walking due to her arthritis, she decided to decrease the amount of diuretics she was taking so she didn’t have to make as many “long” trips to the other end of the house. The combination of lowered dose of diuretics and high dose of cortisone raised her blood pressure to the point where a blood vessel in her brain burst, causing a stroke. When the EMTs took her blood pressure, as I recall the systolic was way over 200 mm Hg.

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The adrenal glands are on top of each kidney. Each gland has a cortex (outer region) and a medulla (inner region). The cortex secretes glucocorticoids such as cortisol, mineralocorticoids, and small amounts of androgens and estrogens responsible for some secondary sex characteristics. Glucocorticoids raise blood sugar levels by increasing gluconeogenesis (synthesis of glucose from amino acid). This action ensures glucose supplies for the body when it is under stress. Mineralocorticoids such as aldosterone promote sodium (salt) reabsorption by stimulating the kidneys to absorb more sodium from the blood. **[] **