SECTION 29.

6
Plan and Prepare 29.6 The Endocrine System
Objectives and Hormones
KEY CONCEPT The endocrine system produces hormones that affect growth,
• Describe how hormones influence development, and homeostasis.
the activities of a cell.
MAIN IDEAS VOCABULARY
• Describe the major endocrine glands
• Hormones influence a cell’s activities by entering the hormone, p. 896
and the hormones they produce. cell or binding to its membrane. gland, p. 896
• Explain the role of the hypothalamus. • Endocrine glands secrete hormones that act
hypothalamus, p. 898
throughout the body.
• Identify some endocrine diseases, pituitary gland, p. 898
• The hypothalamus interacts with the nervous and
their causes, and effects. endocrine systems. releasing hormones, p. 900
• Hormonal imbalances can cause serious illness.
Section Resources
Unit Resource Book Connect If you hear a loud BANG, your brain tells your body that you could be in
danger. You might need to run away or defend yourself. Your brain alerts your
Study Guide pp. 43–44
endocrine system to send out chemicals that will speed up your heart rate,
Power Notes p. 45 increase blood flow to your muscles, and get you ready for action.
Reinforcement p. 46
Pre-AP Activity pp. 51–52
MAIN IDEA
Interactive Reader Chapter 29 Hormones influence a cell’s activities by entering
Spanish Study Guide pp. 299–300 the cell or binding to its membrane.
Biology Toolkit pp. C6, C13, C19, The endocrine system makes chemical signals that help the body grow, de-
C38, C39 velop, and maintain homeostasis. Some of these chemicals control processes
Technology such as cell division, cell death, and sexual development. Others help you
maintain homeostasis by affecting body temperature, alertness, or salt levels.
Power Presentation 29.6
The chemical signals made by the endocrine system are
Media Gallery DVD target called hormones. Hormones are made in organs called glands,
Online Quiz 29.6 which are found in many different areas of the body. Glands
hor-
release hormones into the bloodstream, as shown in
Activate Prior Knowledge Have FIGURE 29.18. As a hormone moves through the body, it
bloodstream comes into contact with many different cells. But it will
students think about how their bodies
have changed over the past ten years. interact only with a cell that has specific membrane
Ask, What is the main cause of the receptors. If the hormone touches a cell that does not have
changes associated with young adults? a matching receptor, nothing happens. If it touches a cell
hormones Tell students that in this receptor that has the correct receptors, it binds to the cell and
section they will be learning about the not a target prompts the cell to make certain proteins or enzymes. Cells
endocrine system, which is responsible that have receptors for a hormone are called the target cells
for releasing those hormones. of that hormone.
FIGURE 29.18 Glands release All hormones belong to one of two categories: steroid hormones and
hormones into the bloodstream, nonsteroid hormones. All steroid hormones are made of cholesterol, a type of
but hormones will only affect lipid. On the other hand, there are three types of nonsteroid hormones that
Teach cells that have receptors for those
hormones.
are made up of one or more amino acids.

Vocabulary 896 Unit 9: Human Biology

Differentiated Instruction
Greek and Latin Word Origins The
root of the word hormone is the Greek BELOW LEVEL
b10hspe-092906.indd 896 U 9/9/09 7:53:12 PM
hormon, meaning “to urge on.”
Have students use the Directed Reading-
Thinking Activity for this section. Students
skim the text to preview the material and
then use a four-column chart to list what
they know, what they think they know, what
they need to find out, and what was learned.
Biology Toolkit, DRTA, p. C6

896 Unit 9: Human Biology

b10hste-0929.indd 896 9/10/09 2:00:18 PM

 As FIGURE 29.19 shows, steroid hormones and nonsteroid hormones influ- Connecting CONCEPTS
ence cells’ activities in different ways. A steroid hormone can enter its target Cell Membrane Recall from Connecting CONCEPTS
cells by diffusing through the cell membrane. Once inside, the steroid hor- Chapter 3 that cell membranes
mone attaches to a receptor protein, which transports the protein into the are made of a phospholipid Cell Membrane The phospholipid
nucleus. After it is inside, the steroid hormone binds to the cell’s DNA. This
bilayer. Only some molecules, molecules of a cell membrane have their
such as steroid hormones, can
binding causes the cell to produce the proteins that are coded by that portion diffuse through it.
nonpolar heads facing the outside and
of DNA. inside surfaces of the cell membrane,
outside inside
with their polar tails hidden inside the
Nonsteroid hormones do not enter their target cells. These hormones bind
to protein receptors on a cell’s membrane and cause chemical reactions to take
membrane. Nonpolar substances such as
place inside the cell. When nonsteroid hormones bind to receptors, the recep-
steroid hormones are not repelled by
ligand
tors change chemically. This change activates molecules inside the cell. These the nonpolar cell membrane, so they can
molecules, called second messengers, react with still other molecules inside the enter the cell.
cell. The products of these reactions might initiate other chemical reactions in receptor
the cell or activate a gene in the nucleus.
TEACH FROM VISUALS
A Apply Why do hormones only affect some cells?
FIGURE 29.19 Have students compare
both sides of the figure and point out
FIGURE 29.19 Hormone Action the alignment of one side to the other.
Ask
Steroid hormones enter the cell, but nonsteroid hormones do not.
• Where does the steroid hormone
meet a receptor? within the cell the
STEROID HORMONE NONSTEROID HORMONE
nonsteroid hormone? outside the
INTERACTS non-steroid cell
steroid hormone 1 Steroid hormone WITH hormone • How does the reaction caused by
diffuses through the MEMBRANE 1 Nonsteroid hormone
cell membrane. binds to receptor on the steroid hormone differ from the
the cell membrane.
receptor nonsteroid hormone? Steroid
hormone acts on DNA to produce
its product; nonsteroid hormone
GETS MESSAGE produces a chemical reaction in the
2 Steroid hormone INTO CELL
cytoplasm.
binds to a receptor 2 Receptor stimulates
within the cell. a second messenger
receptor within the cell.
second messenger • Which type of hormone is more
likely to produce an immediate
effect and why? nonsteroid hor-
CAUSES
nucleus 3 Second messenger starts mone, one that does not require
3 The hormone and CHEMICAL a series of chemical reac- DNA to go through protein synthesis
receptor enter the
REACTIONS tions in the cytoplasm.
nucleus and bind chemical
to DNA. reactions
nucleus
DNA

4 Steroid hormone
MAKES
PRODUCTS
4 Second messenger
Answers
causes DNA to
make proteins. reactions activate A Apply Hormones will affect only
enzymes.
cells with matching receptors.
proteins
activated enzymes B Contrast Steroid hormones enter
cells and bind with receptors inside the
B Contrast How do the ways in which steroid and nonsteroid hormones affect a cell differ? cells. The hormones and receptors then
enter the nucleus, causing DNA to make
proteins. Nonsteroid hormones bind
Chapter 29: Nervous and Endocrine Systems 897 with receptors on the cells’ surface,
causing chemical reactions in the cells,
PRE-AP ENGLISH LEARNERS which activate enzymes.
9/06
M 9:28:54 AM bhspe-092906.indd Sec6:897 6/29/06 9:29:02

Tell students that the hormone commonly Use the diagrams in FIGURE 29.19 to help
referred to as adrenaline (epinephrine) is a students visualize what is happening at each
nonsteroid hormone. Adrenaline moves numbered step. Use questions to help bring
quickly into the bloodstream to contribute to out the detail of the diagrams. Then suggest
the body’s response when a person feels students reformat each half of the diagram as
threatened or frightened. Have students take a sequence diagram, placing one diagram
five minutes to write about whether there is above the other to make an easier comparison.
a selective advantage in having a hormone
associated with the fight-or-flight response Biology Toolkit, Sequence Diagram, p. C38
be nonsteroidal.
Biology Toolkit, Quick-Write, p. C19
Chapter 29: Nervous and Endocrine Systems 897
 MAIN IDEA

Teach continued Endocrine glands secrete hormones that act

throughout the body.
Vocabulary Unlike the nervous system, the endocrine system does not have its own
Academic Vocabulary The words connected network of tissues. However, its chemical messages can still travel
secretion and secrete are distinct in where they need to go. Hormones travel in the bloodstream to all areas of the
meaning from the words excretion body to find target cells.
and excrete. The endocrine system has many glands. Each gland makes hormones that
secretion, a substance produced and have target cells in many areas of the body. Some of these glands make hor-
used within the body mones that prompt other endocrine glands to make and release their hor-
mones. Other glands affect different body systems. Their hormones prompt
excretion, a product of bodily activity cells to divide or to take up nutrients. Other hormones keep the body’s blood
released as waste pressure within a set limit. Some of the major glands, along with a few of the
Both words come from similar roots, hormones that they make, are described below and in FIGURE 29.20.
meaning “to set aside” or “separate.”
1 The hypothalamus is a small area of the middle of the brain, as you
might recall from Section 29.4. It makes hormones that stimulate the
pituitary gland to release hormones. It also stimulates the production of
Take It Further hormones that control growth, reproduction, and body temperature. You
Hormones are especially potent will read more about the hypothalamus later in this section.
chemicals that can produce significant 2 The pituitary gland is also in the middle of the brain. It makes and
effects, even when in low concentra- releases hormones that control cell growth as well as osmoregulatory
tions in the bloodstream. This is advan- hormones that regulate the concentration of water in the blood. Some
tageous given that many hormones have pituitary hormones stimulate the adrenals, thyroid, and gonads. The
only a short time in which to act. Most pituitary also acts as a gateway through which hypothalamus hormones
are quickly removed from the blood by pass before they enter the bloodstream.
the kidneys or liver. The time a hormone 3 The thyroid gland wraps around the windpipe on three sides. Its hor-
spends in the bloodstream is brief, from mones regulate metabolism, growth, and development.
1 to 30 minutes. In contrast, the time it 4 The thymus is in the chest. It makes hormones that cause white blood
takes for the hormone’s effects to be cells to mature. It also stimulates white blood cells to fight off infection.
felt can vary widely—anywhere from 5 The adrenal glands are above the kidneys. The adrenals secrete hormones
minutes to hours or days. that control the “fight or flight” response when stimulated by the para-
sympathetic nervous system. Adrenal hormones increase breathing rate,
blood pressure, and alertness.
6 The pancreas lies between the stomach and intestines. It makes digestive
Answers enzymes as well as hormones that regulate how much glucose the body
stores and uses.
A Summarize Hypothalamus influences
Connecting CONCEPTS 7 The gonads—ovaries in women and testes in men—make steroid hor-
growth, reproduction, and body
Reproduction You can read mones that influence sexual development and functions. Gonads of men
temperature. Pituitary influences water more about how chemical sig- and women make the same hormones. However, men and women make
balance and growth. Thyroid influences nals in the body affect growth,
development, and reproduction them in different amounts, which gives men and women different
metabolism, growth, and development.
in Chapter 34. sexual characteristics.
Thymus influences the immune system.
Adrenal influences blood pressure and A Summarize What body processes do each of the main endocrine
glands influence?
breathing rate. Pancreas influences diges-
tion and blood glucose levels. Gonads
influence sexual development and
functions. 898 Unit 9: Human Biology
Differentiated Instruction
C d BELOW LEVEL Fil
lhspe-092906.indd 2Sec6:898
03240 N bh 092906 i dd U
• How is a message
i j
sent along a neuron
L M difi d 6/23/06 11 516/29/06
AM 9:29:10 AM bhspe-092906.in

Have students form pairs to think through different from one sent by a hormone? The
and answer the following questions: neuron sends a chemical signal that runs
along a specific pathway; the hormone
• What would happen if an action potential sends a signal that goes wherever blood
generated a response in the wrong motor flows.
cell? The wrong part of the body would
respond. Biology Toolkit, Think-Pair-Share, p. C13
• What would happen if a hormone’s signal
went to the wrong cell and why? Nothing
would happen because the cell lacks the
receptor.

898 Unit 9: Human Biology

 FIGURE 29.20 Glands and Some of the Major Hormones
Endocrine glands are found throughout the body, and they influence whole-body
processes. Some of the hormones they make are listed here. ONLINE BIOLOGY Students can
graph cortisol levels and see how they
relate to time of day in Data Analysis in
1 HYPOTHALAMUS
Options for Inquiry on page 903.
• Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) causes the
pituitary to release growth hormone.
• Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) causes gonads
to release hormones that control the reproductive system.
Integrating
2 PITUITARY Medical Science
• Growth hormone (GH) stimulates cell division, protein
synthesis, and bone growth in multiple tissues. In 1988, while training for the Olympics
• Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) causes the blood to absorb in Seoul, South Korea, American hurdler
water from the kidneys. Gail Devers began to have migraines,
sleeplessness, fainting spells, and vision
3 THYROID loss. She was diagnosed with Graves’
• Thyroxin (T4) and Triiodothyronine (T3) increase metabo- disease, a chronic disorder in which the
lism, digestion, and a person’s energy levels. thyroid gland produces too much
• Calcitonin causes the body to remove calcium from the
blood and increase bone formation. thyroxin. When there is an increase in
the amount of thyroid hormone, a
person’s metabolism rate can be
4 THYMUS increased by 60–100 percent.
• Thymosin causes white blood cells to reproduce
and mature. As a result, Devers’s feet became swollen,
blistered, cracked, and painful. Doctors
ADRENAL GLANDS thought her feet might have to be
5 • Epinephrine causes the heart to increase its strength and amputated. However, with proper
number of contractions, circulating blood more quickly. treatment and determination, Devers
went on to win the Olympic gold for the
6 PANCREAS 100-meter dash in 1992, and again in 1996.
• Insulin removes sugar from the bloodstream and increases
sugar metabolism.
• Glucagon increases sugar production and adds sugar to
the bloodstream.
Take It Further
Tell students not to confuse the steroid
7 FEMALE GONADS: OVARIES
hormones that the body makes naturally
• Estrogen causes sexual maturation, including egg produc-
tion, and influences female characteristics, such as fat dis- with anabolic-androgenic steroids that
tribution and widening of the hips. some athletes use to enhance perfor-
• Progesterone causes menstruation. mance. Anabolic-androgenic steroids
are synthetic substances related to male
7 MALE GONADS: TESTES sex hormones. They are sometimes
• Testosterone causes sexual maturation, including sperm prescribed medically to treat delayed
production, and male characteristics, such as facial hair puberty and to prevent wasting in
and a deep voice.
patients with AIDS. However, abuse of
these steroids can lead to liver disease,
blood clots, aggression, and irritability.
A CRITICAL Why is the bloodstream a good means for transporting
VIEWING hormones such as growth hormone and calcitonin?

Chapter 29: Nervous and Endocrine Systems 899

Answers
9/06 9:29:10 AM PRE-AP
bhspe-092906.indd Sec6:899 INCLUSION 6/29/06 9:29:14 A A Critical Viewing Growth hormone
M
Have students study FIGURE 29.20, then close Provide students who are visually impaired and calcitonin affect cells that are found
their books. Ask them to draw a rough outline with a cutout of the human body. Have them throughout the body. Because the
of the human body in their science notebook. work with another student to add sticker bloodstream reaches all parts of the
Have them locate and identify as many dots where the endocrine glands are located. body, it can get hormones to their
endocrine glands as they can. Ask students if The pair should identify the glands, the target cells.
they see any parallels between the general hormones they secrete, and the effects of
placements of the endocrine system and that those hormones.
of the central nervous system. centralized
location along the main axis of body, close to
most major organs

Chapter 29: Nervous and Endocrine Systems 899

 MAIN IDEA

Teach continued The hypothalamus interacts with the nervous

and endocrine systems.
TEACH FROM VISUALS The nervous and endocrine systems connect to each other at the base of the
pituitary
gland
brain, where the hypothalamus acts as a part of both systems. As part of the
FIGURE 29.21 Point out that the CNS, it receives, sorts, and interprets information from sensory organs. As
hypothalamus connects the nervous part of the endocrine system, the hypothalamus produces releasing hormones
and endocrine systems. Ask that affect tissues and other endocrine glands. Releasing hormones
hypothalamus are hormones that stimulate other glands to release their hormones.
• What system is the hypothalamus
part of? both the endocrine and Many of the hypothalamus’s releasing hormones affect the pitu-
central nervous systems itary gland. These glands can quickly pass hormones back and forth
blood flow to each other. A series of short blood vessels connects the two, as you
• What is the function of the hypo-
can see in FIGURE 29.21. These two glands work together to regulate
thalamus in the CNS? It receives and
various body processes. When the nervous system stimulates the
sorts impulses to other areas of the hypothalamus, it releases hormones, which travel to the pituitary.
brain. pituitary
gland Together, the hypothalamus and pituitary regulate many processes.
• What type of signals does the The diagram below shows how releasing hormones help glands to
hypothalamus send? It produces “talk with” one another to maintain body temperature.
releasing hormones that then A
activate other glands, such as the 1 When the body becomes cold, thermoreceptors COLD EXPOSURE
pituitary, to release their hormones. in the nervous system send a signal that stimu-
FIGURE 29.21 The hypothalamus
stimulates the pituitary to secrete
lates the hypothalamus.
stop
hormones into the bloodstream. 2 The hypothalamus responds to this stimulus by hypothalamus
secreting a releasing hormone called TRH (TSH-
Take It Further releasing hormone).
TRH

Prostaglandins are hormonelike lipids 3 TRH travels through a short blood vessel and pituitary
that regulate cell activities. Unlike stimulates the pituitary to release TSH (thyroid-
TSH
hormones, they are not produced by stimulating hormone). A
specific endocrine glands. Instead, they 4 TSH travels through the bloodstream to the neck, thyroid BB
are produced by many cells throughout where it stimulates the thyroid to release thyrox-
the body and act locally. Prostaglandins thyroxine
ine, a hormone that increases cells’ activity.
help regulate blood pressure, childbirth, 5 As cells become more active, the body’s tempera-
blood clotting, and the body’s inflamma- ture increases. Thermoreceptors signal the
tory response to infection. hypothalamus to stop releasing TRH. In the
absence of TRH, the other glands are no longer BODY WARMS
stimulated. One by one, they stop releasing their
hormones, and the cycle is turned off.
Answers Notice that releasing hormones, such as TRH and TSH, act as a type of
feedback on the glands they target. In Chapter 28, you learned that a feedback
A Analyze The hypothalamus receives is something that stimulates a change. As long as releasing hormones are
nerve impulses from the brain and other present, each target gland will continue to make more and more hormones.
parts of the body. It also releases However, when the body reaches its ideal temperature, the hypothalamus
regulating hormones, which cause other stops releasing TRH. Then the pituitary and the thyroid stop releasing their
endocrine glands to release hormones. hormones too.
A Analyze How does the hypothalamus connect the nervous and endocrine systems?
ONLINE BIOLOGY The interactive
animation in Options for Inquiry, 900 Unit 9: Human Biology
page 903, examines what happens when Differentiated Instruction
an imbalance occurs in a hormone
feedback loop. C d BELOW LEVEL Fil
lhspe-092906.indd 2Sec6:900
03240 N bh 092906 i dd U i j L M difi d 6/23/06 11 516/29/06
AM 9:29:24 AM bhspe-092906.i

Have students create a cycle diagram for the

feedback loop shown on page 900. Suggest
they overlay the diagram onto an outline of
the human body, placing the hypothalamus,
pituitary, and thyroid in their approximate
locations.
Biology Toolkit, Cycle Diagram, p. C39

900 Unit 9: Human Biology

 MAIN IDEA
Hormonal imbalances can cause severe illness. History of Science
Cushing’s syndrome is named after
Because hormones play an important role in maintaining homeostasis, too
Dr. Harvey Williams Cushing, an early
much or too little of a hormone will affect the entire body. In Chapter 28, you
learned that diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not make the right
pioneer in neurosurgery. The syndrome
amounts of insulin and glucagon, hormones that regulate sugar concentration
is a disorder of the adrenal cortex,
in the blood. When other glands do not function properly, a person may get caused by a pituitary tumor. Cushing was
other diseases. For example, if the thyroid does not make enough hormones, a among the first to treat such disorders
person will develop hypothyroidism. In children, this condition slows growth surgically. He used surgery to treat
and mental development. In adults, hypothyroidism causes weakness, sensitiv- acromegaly, a disease in which the
ity to cold, weight gain, and depression. Hyperthyroidism, or the condition of pituitary gland releases too much
having too many thyroid hormones, produces opposite symptoms. growth hormone, producing enlarged
The wrong amount of adrenal hormones also affects the entire body.
bone structures of the face, hands,
Cortisol is an adrenal hormone that helps the body break down and use sugars and feet.
and control blood flow and pressure. If the adrenal glands produce too much
cortisol, the body cannot metabolize sugars properly, and a person can de-
velop Cushing’s syndrome. This syndrome causes obesity, high blood pressure,

A
diabetes, and muscle weakness. It occurs when the pituitary, which releases
hormones that stimulate the adrenal glands, is not working the way it should.
Answers
Steroids, a pituitary tumor, or some prescription drugs can make the pituitary A Infer The pituitary gland releases
overactive and indirectly cause Cushing’s syndrome. hormones that stimulate organs that are
part of other body systems.
On the other hand, in Addison’s disease the adrenal glands do not make
enough cortisol. Usually, Addison’s disease occurs because the immune system
attacks the adrenal glands. The disease causes loss of appetite, weight loss, and CHI6
hX^a^c`h#dg\
low blood pressure. Although hormonal imbalances can cause serious illnesses
To learn more about the endro-
and may even be fatal, many hormonal imbalances can be treated with surgery
or medicine.
crine system, visit scilinks.org.
Keycode: MLB029
Assess and Reteach
A Infer Why might a problem with a person’s pituitary gland lead to problems in Assess Use the Online Quiz or Section
BB other body systems?
Quiz (Assessment Book, p. 576).
Reteach Make a three-column chart on
ONLINE QUIZ the board. Title the first column Glands,
29.6 ASSESS MENT ClassZone.com the second Hormones, and the third
Function. Have students supply the
REVIEWING MAIN IDEAS CRITICAL THINKING Connecting CONCEPTS information for the chart, copying it into
their notebooks.
1. What determines whether a 5. Predict How might your body 7. Cell Biology Steroid hormones
particular hormone will act on a be affected if a certain gland are made of cholesterol, which
target cell? made too much releasing hormone is a type of lipid. Using what you
2. What two main hormones does the that stimulates the thyroid? What know about cell membranes,
pituitary gland produce? if it made too little releasing why do you think steroids can
hormone? diffuse into a cell, while non-
3. How do releasing hormones of the steroid hormones cannot?
hypothalamus connect the ner- 6. Apply What two body systems
vous and endocrine systems? does the endocrine system rely
on to generate and transport signals?
4. Why do hormonal imbalances
affect the entire body?

Chapter 29: Nervous and Endocrine Systems 901

29.6 ASSESSMENT
00.2 ASSESSMENT
1. A hormone will act on a cell only if the cell 4. Hormones play an important role in 6. nervous and circulatory systems
has the proper receptor. maintaining homeostasis. 7. Because the cell membrane is a lipid-bilayer,
2. growth hormone and osmoregulatory
b10hspe-092906.indd 901 5. Too little of the releasing hormone would9/2/08 2:02:15lipid
PM molecules, such as steroid hormones,
hormones result in too little thyroid activity, which can pass through the membrane. Nonlipid
3. Releasing hormones are the chemical leads to weakness, sensitivity to cold, molecules, such as nonsteroid hormones,
messages that the hypothalamus releases in weight gain, depression, and memory loss. cannot pass through the membrane.
response to the impulses it receives from Too much of the releasing hormone would
the nervous system. produce opposite effects.

Chapter 29: Nervous and Endocrine Systems 901

b10hste-0929.indd 901 9/10/08 1:54:42 PM