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35 Cards in this Set

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What are the two main regions of the adrenal glands?
Cortex

Medulla
What are the main responsibilities of the adrenal cortex?
Regulation of lipid, carbohydrate, and protein metabolism

Chronic response to physiological stress
What are the main responsibilities of the adrenal medulla?
Acute responses to stresses (fight or flight response)
What is a pheochromocytoma?
A tumor of the adrenal medulla
What is the arterial blood supply of the adrenal glands and from which vessels do they arise?
Superior suprarenal artery
- From inferior phrenic

Middle suprarenal artery
- From aorta

Inferior suprarenal artery
- From renal artery
What is the venous drainage of the adrenal glands?
Suprarenal vein to central vein
What are the three vascularization patterns of arterial blood supply to the adrenal glands?
Capsular capillaries:
- Supply capsule

Cortical sinusoids:
- Fenestrated capillaries that supply the cortex and drain into the medullary sinusoids

Medullary arterioles:
- Penetrate the cortex within trabeculae and supply capillary beds in the medulla
How are the endocrine cells of the adrenal glands situated in relation to vasculature?
Secretory cells are adjacent to capillaries
What is the main secretory product of the zona glomerulosa?
Mineralocorticoids
- Mainly aldosterone
What does the zona glomerulosa look like and how are cells arranged?
Clusters or balls of cells called glomi
What does the zona fasiculata layer of the adrenal cortex look like and how are cells arranged?
Parenchymal cells arranged in straight plates
What is the main secretory product of the zona fasiculata of the adrenal cortex?
Glucocorticoids
- Mainly cortisol

Some androgen
What are parenchymal cells of the zona fasiculata of the adrenal cortex?
Lipid filled cells
What is the main secretory product of the zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex?
Androgens:
- DHEA
- Androstenedione

Some glucocorticoids
How are cells arranged in the zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex?
Anastomosing networks of small acidophilic cells
What are the general characteristics of steroid secreting cells?
Some rough ER

Extensive smooth ER

Mitochondria with rounded cristae:
- Convert cholesterol to pregnenolone

Lipid droplets:
- Stores cholesterol

Coated pits:
- LDL uptake
What structures do steroid secreting cells lack?
Secretory granules
What are chromaffin cells and where are they found?
Neuroendocrine cells found in the adrenal medulla that secrete norepinephrine and epinephrine
What color are chromaffin cells and why?
Brown

Oxidation of catecholamines by chrome salts makes a brown pigment
What are the two cell types found in the adrenal medulla?
Chromaffin cells

Ganglion cells
How are chromaffin cells arranged in the adrenal medulla?
Clusters
What cell type are chromaffin cells similar to and how are they unique from this class of cells?
Structurally and functionally equivalent to sympathetic post-ganglionic neurons
- Derived from neural crest cells

Glucocorticoids inhibit axon extension
What triggers chromaffin cell secretion of epinephrine and norepinephrine?
Pre-ganglionic cell release of ACh
What is found in secretory granules of chromaffin cells?
Catecholamines

ATP

Ca2+

Enkaphalins

Chromoganins
What is the difference between the secretion of norepinephrine and epinephrine from chromaffin cells?
Norepinephrine is secreted from large dense-cored vesicles

Epinephrine is secreted from smaller, less dense vesicles
What vessels carry adrenal cortical hormones to the medulla?
Cortical sinusoids
What vessels bypass the adrenal cortex to reach the medulla?
Medullary arterioles
How does cortisol affect catecholamine synthesis in the adrenal medulla?
Converts more norepinephrine to epinephrine
- Increases the activity of phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase
What do ganglion cells in the adrenal medulla look like and what is their function?
Project axons to the cortex to modulate secretion and blood flow
How does the adrenal cortex develop?
3-4 weeks:
- Condensation of celomic epithelium

4-6 weeks:
- Proliferation and migration of epithelial cells

8-10 weeks:
- Formation of separate fetal, transitional, and definitive zones

0-3 months:
- Decline of fetal zone

10-20 years:
- Establishment and stabilization of adult zonal pattern
How does the adrenal medulla develop during the first 10 weeks of embryonic life?
4-6 weeks:
- Migration of neural crest cells

8-10 weeks:
- No definitive medulla
- Chromaffin cells scattered throughout region

0-3 months:
- Chromaffin cells aggregate
How does the weight of the adrenal glands relative to body weight change over the course of prenatal and postnatal life?
In fetal life, adrenal weight is a large percentage of fetal body weight

In post natal life, adrenal weight is a low contributor to total body weight
How does the permanent adrenal cortex differ from the fetal zone in the developing adrenal gland?
Permanent cortex:
- Small mitochondria with flattened cristae

Fetal zone:
- Mitochondria with tubular cristae
- Lipid droplets
- Extensive smooth ER
How does fetal adrenal secretion compare with adult adrenal secretion?
Fetal:
- 100 - 200 mg/day

Adult:
- 30 - 40 mg/day
What are the secretory products of the fetal zone in the fetal adrenal gland?
DHEAS
- Converted to estrogens in the placenta