Questions tagged [endocrinology]

The area of physiology dealing with the production and effects of hormones.

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Why does the face turn pale in dangerous situations?

I know what the effects are of a dangerous situation on the brain, i.e., an activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis which eventually results in an increased heart rate and elevated ...
Probably's user avatar
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21 votes
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Do any animals other than humans undergo menopause?

Do any animals other than humans undergo menopause? Also, is there any difference between animals in captivity and animals in the wild as regards menopause? For example, even if menopause has been ...
tel's user avatar
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Why are fearful stimuli more powerful at night?

For example, horror movies appear to be scarier when viewed at night than during broad day light. Does light have any role in this phenomenon? Are there changes in hormones at night versus during ...
Mesentery's user avatar
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19 votes
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What is the female equivalent of the morning erection that some men experience?

There was question about what causes "morning wood." It was answered that the erection in the morning is caused by decline of norepinephrine during REM sleep. Which in part allows to prevent ...
jnovacho's user avatar
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2 answers
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Can parts of a human brain be asleep independently of each other, or vary in the times required for them to fall asleep?

I know that some birds and marine animals can continue complicated activity (swimming, flying?) while one hemisphere of their brain is asleep. I'm interested if human brain has some parts of it that ...
Alex Stone's user avatar
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16 votes
2 answers
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Do human beings have pheromone receptors?

What is the current consensus on whether or not humans have receptors that detect pheromones? If there are purported receptors, in what anatomical areas are they located? With what organ systems do ...
jonsca's user avatar
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15 votes
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Does testosterone increase female sexual behavior?

According to my lecture notes testosterone generally increases sexual behavior. Given that it's generally thought to be the male hormone I'm not quite sure whether they mean that it also increases ...
Christian's user avatar
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13 votes
2 answers
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Do men have significant hormonal cycles?

I know there's a similar question here. But that discussion dissolved into lunar cycle and a correlation with it. I want to find more towards the original question of is there a periodic hormone ...
Software Mechanic's user avatar
12 votes
2 answers
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Is it possible for a human to wake up in a wrong way?

There's an old folk saying that goes like "He got out of bed on a wrong foot" - to indicate that the person's day is going poorly because of the way that person woke up. Is it is possible for a human ...
Alex Stone's user avatar
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11 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is trembling an advantageous response during periods of anxiety?

I originally had planned to ask about whether there was any biological truth in the popular phrase "shivering with fright". However, after doing a fair bit of googling it seems that there is a lot ...
Rory M's user avatar
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11 votes
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What is basis of multifunctionality of "master glands" in the endocrine system?

I have just started reading about the endocrine system and I am having some difficulty understanding the basis of distribution of glands and associated hormones. I am using multifuntionality to ...
hkjairam's user avatar
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Which brain regions are D1 dopamine receptors expressed, and which brain regions are D2 dopamine receptors expressed?

This is a follow-up question to If D1 receptors stimulate adenylate cyclase (through GPCRs) and D2 receptors inhibit it, then why do mutations in both have similar effects?. As a further question - I'...
InquilineKea's user avatar
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10 votes
3 answers
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Can elements of one's environment act directly as hormones?

Can pollution and things in an organism's environment serve as hormones?
Gabriel Fair's user avatar
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What determines testosterone exposure in womb, baby's genetics or mom's body?

I read this article which has the following quote: The ratio between index and ring finger is believed to be linked to exposure to the male hormone testosterone in the womb. And I wonder what ...
mring's user avatar
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10 votes
1 answer
9k views

How do female hormones cause blood to clot?

On most female-hormone supplements you get a warning that is something like this: The use of a combination hormonal contraceptives (CHC), like NuvaRing, is associated with increased risks of ...
SolarLunix's user avatar
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9 votes
2 answers
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When glucose production is low, the brain begins using ketoacids as energy... how does that work?

Can someone very generally describe how the brain consumes ketoacids/ketone bodies when blood glucose has been completely depleted?
Fraïssé's user avatar
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9 votes
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Why do men have a higher hematocrit (red blood cell count) than women?

The hematocrit, also known as packed cell volume (PCV) or erythrocyte volume fraction (EVF), is the volume percentage (%) of red blood cells in blood. It is normally 45% for men and 40% for women. so,...
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2 answers
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Do hormone drugs affect whether a person feels sexual attraction to males or females?

I know that ingesting testosterone and other hormonal drugs may stimulate libido and increase sexual desire. But I wonder, if a man ingests female hormones such as estrogen, will he experience sexual ...
Anixx's user avatar
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9 votes
2 answers
293 views

Leptin and fat mass?

I am interested in the relationship between blood leptin concentration and fat mass. It is well known that as fat mass increases, leptin increases. Have there been studies that look into whether the ...
Biochic's user avatar
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9 votes
1 answer
2k views

Which human body hormonal systems exhibit 24 hour diurnal cyclical activity?

I'm researching the possible connection between the dream content and the activity of various organ or hormonal systems within the human body. I'm looking for information on biological cycles within ...
Alex Stone's user avatar
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8 votes
4 answers
430 views

What gaseous substances do humans emit?

Other than CO₂ and Methane what other gases do humans produce or emit? For example, does skin decomposition, or aerobic respiration emit any special gases that people don't normally realize or know ...
Gabriel Fair's user avatar
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1 answer
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If so many different hormones/molecules work by activating adenylyl cyclase, how do they have different effects?

It seems that many hormones and molecules work by activating adenylyl cyclase to convert $\text{ATP}$ to $\text{cAMP}$, such as adrenaline and glucagon. Both of these seem to bind to $\text G$ protein ...
Meep's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
429 views

Neuroendocrinal mechanism of parturition

My book reads, "The fetus signals that it is mature by secreting certain hormones that diffuse across the placenta into mother's blood and cause the secretion of oxytocin from her posterior ...
Shefali's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
470 views

What is the actual mechanism of the birth control pill?

I've been trying to figure out through online sources (I don't own any medical textbooks) what the exact mechanism behind the birth control pill (henceforth "the pill") is, and I am often ...
Mew's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
357 views

Is there such thing as a generic "metabolic type"?

A while ago I picked up a book called "Eat right for your metabolic type". The book discussed the effects of the endocrine system on the overall shape and the speed of metabolism. The book outlined ...
Alex Stone's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
2k views

How do chameleons signal cells to change color?

I have read about how they can change color, but is there literature about the chemical signaling process they use to do so? I read that it could be some combination of hormones and neurotransmitters,...
Tom's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
850 views

Can androgen-insensitive genetic-males get pregnant?

According to the linked report, people with androgen insensitivity syndrome appear as male, but have both feminine and masculine outer genitalia. However, I was not able to find out whether their ...
Shadow Wizard Love Zelda's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
719 views

Steroid hormones: how do they travel through the cytoplasm (not just the blood plasma) if they're hydrophobic?

I get that steroid hormones need hydrophilic plasma protein carriers (eg albumin, TBG) to travel in the plasma because they're not soluble in the plasma. However, I don't see any sources talking about ...
Ally's user avatar
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1 answer
958 views

Is it purely the nervous system causing vaginal lubrication (arousal)?

My girlfriend was watching some documentary on TLC about a paralyzed woman getting pregnant. I believe that woman still has some feeling, as she spoke about feeling the effects of a bladder ...
Zsub's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
560 views

Counterintuitive action of Vitamin D?

Vitamin D acts in a way which to me is counterintuitive. It functionally supplemets Parathormone. It in the intestinal tract steps up calcium absorption by altering nuclear gene expression and also ...
stochastic13's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
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Single hormone opposite effects

Often, a smooth response to a hormone means that some processes must be sped up and others must be slowed down. How can a single hormone have opposite effects like this?
Gabriel Fair's user avatar
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7 votes
3 answers
508 views

Biological Pathway of Lipid Hypothesis

I've read a lot on both sides of the debate of low carb vs low fat diets trying to make some sense of what is being proposed. The lipid hypothesis runs roughly along the lines that we have lots of ...
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7 votes
1 answer
269 views

What is this small tissue structure found in kidney?

It's covered with white adipose tissue and it is smooth with reddish brown colour. HE dyed with dimensions 3 cm long and 1 cm wide. I'm guessing that this is a rare thing because I already checked ...
Katariina J.'s user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
765 views

When did our ancestors switch to a menstrual cycle instead of the estrous cycle?

The Wikipedia page on the Estrous cycle says: Humans have menstrual cycles instead of estrous cycles. They shed their endometrium instead of reabsorbing it. Unlike animals with estrous cycles, ...
Christian's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
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What is meant by "neurotransmitters flooding the brain"?

I frequently hear expressions like "Dopamine flooding the brain" or "X neurotransmitter flooding the brain" used to communicate with general audiences. For example: "Following [orgasm]? oxytocin ...
Alex Stone's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
72 views

circulating microRNAs are functional?

In plasma and other body fluids, miRNAs can be found. They not only originate from dying cells but also from active secretion and are usually 'packed' into vesicles/lipo-proteic structures (i.e. ...
Gianpaolo R's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
295 views

Why are some menstrual cycles irregular?

A friend of mine asked me this today, and I didn't know. I remember studying the menstrual cycle a few years ago, but I can't remember the details (other than it was very hormone-related), and so I ...
LanceLafontaine's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
89 views

Would constant light or fading light be registered as more wakefulness promoting by the Supra Chiasmatic Nucleus?

During the fall and winter season, a number of people are experiencing Seasonal Affective Disorder. One of the way it has traditionally been treated is with a dedicated lightbox - a very high ...
Alex Stone's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
2k views

Do women have testosterone?

In a documentary on fitness I saw it was stated that women can't get big like men because of their low concentration of testosterone. If it is true that women have testosterone, where is it made? Why ...
user4147's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
904 views

Genetic engineering for insulin production

In order to put human DNA inside a bacteria in order to have it create Insulin, from what type of cell would you need to take the gene for insulin? I thought it should be from any somatic cell, since ...
gil_bz's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
2k views

Effect of steroid hormone on specific cells?

As steroid hormones can pass through the plasma membrane by simple diffusion because they are lipid derived hormones, it means that they are capable of passing through every cell of our body, BUT why ...
katherinebridges's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
10k views

Renin - enzyme or hormone?

Wikipedia says : The kidneys secrete a variety of hormones, including erythropoietin, and the enzyme renin. Can a substance be both an enzyme and a hormone ? Why is renin both an enzyme and a ...
biogirl's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
6k views

Why does depolarisation by high intracellular K+ trigger calcium channels opening?

I have learnt that in pancreatic beta cells, glucose being metabolised in the cell causes a high ATP level, which triggers ATP-dependent potassium channels to close. This means that potassium can't ...
k--'s user avatar
  • 163
6 votes
1 answer
4k views

What causes humans to be sleepy?

Is there a hormone or group of hormones that regulates when we feel sleepy late at night, or in the morning? Or is sleepiness caused by some other non-hormonal mechanism? (e.g. pure psychological, ...
Kenshin's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
3k views

What happens to a human body once a sugary snack is consumed?

I'm looking to understand the effects of sugary snacks and/or drinks on a human body. I'm particularly interested in the timing of the ingestion versus various hormonal levels that may be circadian in ...
Alex Stone's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
170 views

How can hyperthyroidism induce osteoporosis?

It says in my physiology notes that hyperthyroidism can cause osteoporosis. I've been trying to figure out how this could be possible for a little more than an hour now. Every article that I look at ...
Peyolikepeyote's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
5k views

What will happen when humans are injected with plant growth hormones

Will plant growth hormones (PGHs), (let us consider auxins for example) poison our body or not? I do realise that when you eat a shoot, auxins get digested and are less likely to be poisonous but when ...
Shirin Riana's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
149 views

Diabetes-diabetes comorbidity

Is it possible to have both type-1 (insulin-dependent) and type-2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus? That is, to have both insulin resistance and zero (or negligible) insulin production? If ...
msh210's user avatar
  • 503
6 votes
3 answers
342 views

What is the purpose of the adrenal medulla?

The adrenal medulla is less of a 'real' endocrine organ like the others in the endocrine system and much more an extension of the sympathetic nervous system. In fact, its chromaffin cells are modified ...
Armatus's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
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Is there a relationship between Melatonin, Norepinephrine and depression in humans?

I'm reading a booklet on melatonin published in 1996, titled "Melatonin and the Biological Clock". This particular paragraph caught my attention and I would like to better understand what it means: ...
Alex Stone's user avatar
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