Hormone Headquarters
A hormone released from the posterior pituitary causes the kidneys to conserve water. Name the hormone.
ADH (antidiuretic hormone)
A patient has low T3 and T4 and a slowed metabolic state. Which endocrine disorder fits this pattern?
Hypothyroidism
A patient can see an object but has difficulty processing visual information after a brain injury. Which cerebral lobe should you connect with the problem?
Occipital lobe
A sensory impulse is traveling from the spinal cord toward the brain. Is it using an ascending or descending tract?
Ascending tract
A painful stimulus is detected in the skin. Which type of receptor detects pain, and does the first signal travel toward or away from the CNS?
Nociceptor; toward the CNS through a sensory/afferent pathway
A hormone’s target is the adrenal cortex. Name the anterior pituitary hormone AND one major hormone the target gland can release.
ACTH; cortisol
A patient has excess cortisol. Which disorder from this unit should come to mind?
Cushing syndrome
A patient understands a question but has difficulty producing speech. Which named area of the brain should come to mind?
Broca’s area
A neuron receives a signal at its dendrites. Put the next major structures in order as the signal travels through that neuron and communicates with another cell.
Dendrites → cell body → axon → synapse/next cell
Light has passed through the cornea and aqueous humor. Put the remaining structures in order until it reaches the retina: lens, vitreous humor, pupil, retina.
Pupil → lens → vitreous humor → retina
A patient’s blood calcium falls. Which hormone should increase to help restore calcium toward normal?
PTH (parathyroid hormone)
A patient has insufficient cortisol AND aldosterone. Which disorder best fits?
Addison disease
This diencephalon structure acts as a major relay center for sensory information traveling toward the cerebrum.
Thalamus
During an action potential, sodium moves into the neuron first. What electrical phase is occurring, and what ion movement follows during repolarization?
Depolarization; potassium (K+) moves out during repolarization
Sound vibrations have reached the tympanic membrane. Name the three middle-ear bones in order before the vibration reaches the inner ear.
Malleus → incus → stapes
Two hormones are involved in breastfeeding: one makes the milk and one helps eject it. Name both and match each with its job.
Prolactin = milk production; oxytocin = milk ejection/let-down
Blood glucose rises after a meal. Identify the hormone expected to increase AND explain how its action completes a negative-feedback response.
Insulin increases; it promotes glucose uptake into cells, lowering blood glucose toward normal
A patient has poor balance, abnormal posture, and uncoordinated voluntary movement. Which major brain area best explains this cluster?
Cerebellum
Damage to CNS myelin slows nerve conduction. Name the CNS cell that normally forms this myelin AND the disorder emphasized in class that damages CNS myelin.
Oligodendrocyte; multiple sclerosis (MS)
A patient has both hearing loss and problems with equilibrium. Which cranial nerve connects BOTH findings, and which inner-ear structures should you associate with hearing versus balance?
CN VIII vestibulocochlear; cochlea = hearing; semicircular canals/vestibular system = balance
Name the hormone-producing structure for EACH: erythropoietin, ANP, and hCG.
Kidney = erythropoietin; heart = ANP; placenta = hCG
One patient cannot produce insulin because pancreatic beta cells were destroyed. Another still produces insulin but the body does not respond to it effectively. Identify the two types of diabetes.
First = Type 1 diabetes mellitus; second = Type 2 diabetes mellitus
A severe injury affects heart rate, breathing, and protective reflexes such as swallowing and coughing. Which part of the brainstem is most concerning?
Medulla oblongata
A patient’s heart rate increases, pupils dilate, and digestion slows during an acute stress response. Name the autonomic division AND explain why these changes fit its purpose.
Sympathetic nervous system; it prepares the body for fight-or-flight
The body detects dehydration and must coordinate a response that conserves water. Identify the nervous-system structure that links nervous and endocrine control AND the hormone that directly promotes water conservation.
Hypothalamus; ADH