Mrs. James appeared at the clinic complaining of extreme nervousness and sweating, saying that she could feel and hear her heart thumping when she tried to sleep at night. She was found to have a severely elevated and fluctuating blood pressure

Although laboratory testing revealed hyperglycemia and increased basal metabolic rate, tests of thyroid function were normal. What is your diagnosis? What treatment should be used?
What will be an ideal response


The diagnosis is hypersecretion of catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine), sometimes arising from a rare chromaffin cell tumor called a pheochromocytoma. Treatment is surgical removal of the tumor.

Anatomy & Physiology

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Sally Student does not understand the differences between ions, isotopes, and free radicals. Assuming she has learned and understood some basic chemistry, what is the likely source of her confusion? Review the definitions of these terms, then make a table or flow chart to help her sort this out.

What will be an ideal response?

Anatomy & Physiology

What keeps the capillaries of the vasa recta from dissipating the medullary osmotic gradient?

A) the smooth muscle cells contain Na+/K+/Cl- cotransporters B) the smooth muscle cells are impermeable to water and ions C) the vascular endothelial cells are impermeable to water and ions D) capillary blood enters and exits the medulla at a similar osmolarity E) the vascular endothelial cells contain Na+/K+/Cl- cotransporters

Anatomy & Physiology

Natural killer (NK) cells are a type of granular leukocyte.

Answer the following statement true (T) or false (F)

Anatomy & Physiology

An inhibitory local potential causes which of the following?

A. Hyperpolarization of the plasma membrane B. Neutralization of the plasma membrane C. Depolarization of the plasma membrane D. Repolarization of the plasma membrane E. Drifting of the membrane potential towards the resting membrane potential

Anatomy & Physiology