The approach to treating patients who secrete abnormal amounts of hormone sometimes depends upon the age of the patient. List the hormones of growth and metabolism for which this statement is true, and explain in each case how and why the approach would differ for a prepubertal patient compared to a postpubertal patient.
What will be an ideal response?
Thyroid hormone and growth hormone are the main hormones of growth and development with differing roles in
childhood compared to adulthood. Students may wish to discuss calcitonin as well, but there is little detail in the
text and incomplete understanding of its role, especially in adults.
1. Thyroid hormone is essential for normal growth and development in children, although this hormone is not
essential for living, regardless of age. Thyroid imbalances must be promptly corrected in children, or else the
patients will be developmentally delayed. Thyroid hormone has a permissive effect for growth hormone, is anabolic
in children, and is required for normal neural development. These effects are not seen with thyroid hormone
imbalance in adulthood, but to maintain a normal quality of life, amount of circulating thyroid hormone should be
corrected in adults as well.
2. Children cannot grow normally without adequate amounts of growth hormone, and imbalances should be
corrected promptly. Secretion of GH peaks during the teens. Excess GH in childhood can lead to giantism, while
lack of GH leads to pituitary dwarfism. Lack of GH in adulthood is not problematic, but excess production
stimulates the growth of cartilage, causing acromegaly.
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What is happening in the heart when a P wave is recorded on an ECG?
A. The ventricles are depolarizing. B. The atria are depolarizing. C. The ventricles are repolarizing. D. The ventricles are contracting. E. Ventricular systole is occurring.
Acetylcholine (ACh) is the neurotransmitter of axon terminals at the neuromuscular junction. It ________
A) binds to receptors on the motor neuron B) ultimately causes the motor neuron to depolarize C) diffuses into the muscle cell D) binds to receptors on the muscle membrane
Graves' disease is a condition in which some of the body's antibodies mimic thyroid-stimulating hormone and cause overactivity of the thyroid gland. What consequences would this have for neurons in the body, and how would metabolic rate be affected?
Would you expect someone with Graves' disease to feel chillier or warmer than someone who was unaffected? What will be an ideal response?
Choose the FALSE statement.
A. Because sodium and potassium ions cross the membrane during an action potential, their concentrations inside the cell change significantly. B. A hyperpolarized cell has a negative membrane potential compared to one at rest. C. Within a single neuron, different types of voltage-gated ion channels may have different threshold voltages. D. If a second graded potential begins before the first one ends, the voltage changes add together.