Nursing Assignment on Pathophysiology of Cushing's Syndrome

Running head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT
NURSING ASSIGNMENT (PATHOPHYSIOLOGY)
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NURSING ASSIGNMENT1
As per Sharma, Nieman and Feelders Sharma, Nieman and Feelders (2015), pathology is
considered as the general study of diseases and disease progression through proper identification
and analysis of tissues, cells, molecules, body fluids and others. Pathologists generally collect
cues from the injuries and diseases of the patients and then depending upon them decides the
pathophysiology of health condition.
Cushing’s disease is the most endogenous cause that leads to Cushing’s syndrome. As per
Sharma, Nieman and Feelders (2015), the term Cushing’s syndrome is the health condition in
which the body suffered from excessive accumulations of glucocorticoids in the body. The body
system involved in this health condition is pituitary gland in the endocrine system that releases
adreno- corticotropic hormone (ACTH) (Lonser, Nieman & Oldfield, 2017). Endocrine system is
the normal body system which is affected with this health condition and enlargement of the
pituitary gland in the Cushing syndrome gets affected due to the Cranial nerve II damage
(Pivonello et al., 2015). The normal anatomy of the body system that causes critical symptoms is
truncal obesity, hypertension, infections and glucose intolerance and hence, these are the
complications that affect the normal body system and organ functions in this health
complications.
While discussing the pathophysiology of this health condition, it should be mentioned
that all complication starts with complications in the ACTH. As the adrenal glands starts
excreting the cortisol and steroids and releases it in the petrosal venous sinuses (Pivonello et al.,
2015). Further, it is seen that hypothalamus also increases the amount of corticotropin-releasing
hormone in the body. Further, due to increase in the amount of ACTH in the patient’s body, it is
seen that the secretion amplifies in the presence of the normal circadian rhythm (Raff & Carroll,
2015). Further, it was also observed in the research of Sharma, Nieman and Feelders (2015) that