ENDOCRINE SYSTEM

PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
Endocrine System
Thyroid Gland

Hormone: Thyroxin

Overactivity (Too much hormone)

- Increased metabolic rate
- Increased food intake but loss of weight
- Hyperthyroidism (Grave’s disease)
- Goiter (swollen neck, maybe bulging eyes)
Hyperthyroidism (Grave’s Disease)
• Other names toxic diffuse
goiter or exophthalmic
goiter
• Hyperthyroidism
(overactive thyroid) occurs
when your thyroid gland
produces too much of the
hormone thyroxine.
• This can accelerate your
body's metabolism, causing
unintentional weight loss and
a rapid or irregular heartbeat
• Grave’s disease is an
autoimmune disease (i.e.,
when the body reacts to its
own tissues as though they
were foreign substances).
Goiter

• Goiter is an enlargement of the thyroid gland, resulting in a

prominent swelling in the front of the neck. The normal human
thyroid gland weighs 10 to 20 grams (about 0.3 to 0.6 ounce),
and some goitrous thyroid glands weigh as much as 1,000
grams (more than 2 pounds).
• A very large goiter may cause sensations of choking and
can cause difficulty in breathing and swallowing.
Thyroid Gland

Hormone: Thyroxin

Underactivity (Not enough hormone)

- Hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s disease)
- Reduced metabolic rate
- Low food intake but gain of weight
- Myxedema (when onset in adults)
- Cretinism (when onset in children)
- Can also cause a goiter
 Hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s
Disease
• Other names called Hashimoto
thyroiditis, chronic lymphocytic
thyroiditis, chronic autoimmune
thyroiditis, or Struma
lymphomatous, a noninfectious
form of inflammation of the thyroid
gland (thyroiditis).
• Hypothyroidism is an underactive
thyroid gland.
• Hypothyroidism is the most
common of the thyroid
disorders. The metabolic rate falls
and normal bodily functions slow
down.
 DIFFERENCE between
HYPERthyroidism & HYPOthyroidism
Myxedema
■ Myxedema, physiological reaction to lack of
sufficient thyroid hormone (hypothyroidism) in
the adult. It can be brought about by removal of
the thyroid for any cause, by a cessation of
function of the gland, or simply by glandular
atrophy.
■ Puffiness (swelling)
■ Fatigue
■ Obesity
■ Dry, thickened skin
■ Mental impairment
■ Thin, brittle hair
Cretinism ■ Congenital iodine deficiency
syndrome, previously known as
cretinism, is a condition of
severely stunted physical and
mental growth owing to
untreated congenital deficiency of
thyroid hormone (congenital
hypothyroidism) usually owing to
maternal hypothyroidism.
■ Protuberant abdomen
■ Short Stature
■ Infertility
■ Neurological impairment
■ Constant Fatigue
■ Obesity
Pancreas
Hormone: Insulin

Overactivity
- Low blood sugar level (Hypoglycemia)

Underactivity
- High blood sugar level (Hyperglycemia)
- Diabetes Mellitus
Hypoglycemia
Hyperglycemia
 Diabetes Mellitus
• Diabetes Mellitus ,a disorder
caused by the body’s inability to
produce or respond to insulin
and characterized by abnormal
glucose levels in the blood.
• This is a chronic disease caused
by inherited and/or acquired
deficiency in production of
insulin by the pancreas, or by
the ineffectiveness of the insulin
produced.
Anterior Pituitary
Gland
Hormone: Growth Hormone
(Somatotropin)

Overactive
- Gigantism (children - very tall)
- Acromegaly (adults - bones & skin thicken)

Underactive
- Dwarfism (very short)
 Gigantism
• Gigantism, excessive
growth in stature, well
beyond the average for
the individual’s heredity
and environmental
conditions.
• Tall stature may result
from hereditary, dietary, or
other factors. Gigantism is
caused by disease or
disorder in those parts of
the endocrine system that
regulate growth and
development.
Acromegaly

• Acromegaly, growth and metabolic disorder characterized

by enlargement of the skeletal extremities. It is the result of
overproduction of pituitary growth hormone (somatotropin)
after maturity, caused by a tumor of the pituitary gland.
• Acromegaly is often associated with the abnormal growth in
stature known as pituitary gigantism.
 Dwarfism
• Dwarfism is short stature that
results from a genetic or medical
condition. Dwarfism is generally
defined as an adult height of 4 feet
10 inches (147 centimeters) or
less. The average adult height
among people with dwarfism is 4
feet (122 cm).

Many different medical conditions cause dwarfism. In general, the

disorders are divided into two broad categories:
•Disproportionate dwarfism. If body size is disproportionate,
some parts of the body are small, and others are of average size or
above-average size. Disorders causing disproportionate dwarfism
inhibit the development of bones.
•Proportionate dwarfism. A body is proportionately small if all
parts of the body are small to the same degree and appear to be
proportioned like a body of average stature.