The Assignment on Short Answer Questions

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
Make sure you read the question and ensure you keep within the word
count guidance.
Section 2a: Endocrine system
Question 1: Compare and contrast up regulation and down regulation as it
pertains to the endocrine system. Word count 200 words. (10 marks)
Differences
Upregulation
 Upregulation is the process used by the cells to enhance their sensitivity to
particular hormone
 To perform the increase in the sensitive if a hormone cell produces additional
receptor
 The cell reduced its degradation of the receptor by activating the already available
receptors
 The cell is typically upregulated when the hormone concentration is very low
 Hormone themselves can also trigger cells to be upregulated (Gard, 2018).
Downregulation
 Down regulation is used when a cell reduces its sensitivity to hormone by reducing
receptor
 In this process the cell reduces the production of receptor (Gard, 2018).
 The cell reduces its degradation of the receptor by inhibiting present receptors
 The cell is downregulated when the hormone concentration is low
 Hormone themselves cannot trigger the cells to be downregulated (Neal, 2016).
Similarities
 Both the upregulation and downregulation are the processes takes part in the

endocrine system
 Both the processes needs receptors to occur
 Hormone concentration changes in both the processes
 Both the processes are essential for hormone clearance
 In both downregulation and upregulation sensitivity of a cell is changed.
 Both down and upregulation can occur as the result of a drug intake in the body
(Neal, 2016).

Question 2: Giving examples, explore the 3 types of stimulus for the
release of hormones. Word count 200 words. (10 marks).
There different types of stimulus in the human body in control for the release of hormones.
For example, humoral stimuli, hormonal type of stimuli, and neural type of stimuli.
Humoral stimuli: the concept humoral resulting from another term human which means
body fluids like blood. A humoral stimulus is controlling the humoral release in the
response to a alteration in the extracellular fluids. For instance, rise in the glucose level in
blood stimulates the insulin form pancreas (Pfaff, Rubin, Schneider & Head, 2018).
Hormonal stimulus: it refers to the hormone discharge in the reaction to another hormones.
There are different endocrine glands discharge hormones when triggered by release of
hormone from other endocrine gland. For instance, hypothalamus generate a hormone that
triggers the anterior portion of body’s pituitary gland. Further the anterior pituitary gland
discharges TSH which then trigger thyroid gland to release T3 and T4 (Wilsterman,
McGuire, Calisi & Bentley, 2017).
Neural stimulus
In different cases the nervous system of the body directly trigger the endocrine
gland to discharge hormones which is describes to as neural stimuli. For example in the
short term response to stress, the hormone epinephrine and the norepinephrine are essential
for delivering the burst to react. In this case the neural signals form the sympathetic
nervous system openly trigger the adrenal medulla. A