Module/Week 7
Endocrine Functions
Media Piece
Endocrine Functions
Represent aspects of the endocrine system in a way that you could look back at your media in a decade and recall the basics of this system.
Material that supports this lab and media piece can be found in this week’s Endocrine System guide.
Information on glucose regulation is on this webpage, below the media assignment (scroll down)
Assignment (due Sunday on Canvas)
Endocrine Functions
The endocrine system is one of the most challenging systems to research and understand. Small chemicals traveling in the blood and causing things to happen elsewhere can be hard to track, especially with fluctuations in amounts and impacts happening on different time scales.
In this lab and media piece, you are representing aspects of the endocrine system in a way that you could look back at your media in a decade and quickly recall the basics of this system.
Include in your original media piece:
- Endocrine Organs: (a) explain what it means that an organ is “endocrine;” (b) provide examples of endocrine organs including their locations; and (c) describe the role of the pituitary gland.
- Hormones: (a) Describe what hormones are and what they do; (b) provide examples of hormones produced by various endocrine organs; and (c) explain how hormones regulate blood calcium and glucose levels.
- Stress: (a) provide examples of short-term and long-term stress events; (b) describe the impacts of adrenaline (epinephrine) and cortisol on the body; and (c) list factors that can reduce the potential impacts of a stress response.
- Metabolism: (a) define metabolism, including catabolism and anabolism; (b) explain how hormones impact appetite; and (c) describe the potential impacts of anabolic steroids.
Upload a single endocrine functions media piece file to Canvas.
Glucose Regulation
The pancreas is serving two distinct functions: producing enzymes for digestion and hormones for blood sugar regulation. The differences in tissues is apparent under the microscope.
This video shows how insulin and glucagon levels change in response to a rise in blood glucose right after a big meal, or a slight drop in blood glucose long after a meal.
To make sure this makes sense, draw a sketch of blood glucose regulation when glucose levels would be rising after a big meal, and again when glucose would be falling long after a meal. Include: pancreas, liver/skeletal muscle, insulin, glucagon, glucose, glycogen.
Insulin and glucagon are working opposite each other to maintain relative balance, also called h__________.
Assignment (due Sunday on Canvas)
Media Directions
Submitted to Canvas.
Upload your original endocrine functions media piece to Canvas. Your single file can be submitted as a PDF, a word document, a website link, or even a video. Multiple assignment formats are supported.
Learn more about this Module’s Topics
If you would like to learn more about the topics introduced in this course, please visit the resources page.
Campus HumanBio Home
Course Overview
This week’s module
Regulation
