Chapter 40: Mechanisms of Endocrine Control Patho Prep U
Following a stroke that disrupts blood flow to the pituitary gland, a client develops signs of hypopituitarism. Which manifestations are unexpected findings?
Increased volume of dilute urine
A client develops hypocalcemia after thyroid surgery. Which hormonal imbalance caused this complication?
Lack of parathyroid hormone
Which structure controls the functions of the greatest number of target glands and cells?
Pituitary gland
The nurse is educating a client with a newly diagnosed thyroid cancer. Which testing procedure should be reviewed because it allows good examination of the tissue structure and provides information about the tissue function as well?
Positron emission tomography/CT (PET/CT)
A client with newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus asks the nurse why insulin is not available in a pill like thyroid hormone is. Which response best answers the client's question?
Peptide proteins will be digested instead of entering the bloodstream.
A nurse who works in the office of an endocrinologist is orienting a new staff member. Which teaching point should the nurse include in the orientation?
"A single hormone can act on not only one process or organ but often on several different locations or processes."
Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) performs which role in the functioning of the endocrine system?
Acting as a second messenger to mediate hormone action on target cells
A client experiences an increase in thyroid hormone as a result of a thyroid tumor. Which hormonal response demonstrates the negative feedback mechanism?
Decreased thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)
While discussing the regulation of hormone levels, the instructor gives an example of hormones regulated by feedback mechanisms. Which example of this regulation is best?
Following a meal that was high in carbohydrates, a person's blood glucose elevates, which stimulates the release of insulin from the pancreas.
Which statement best explains the function of hormone receptors?
Hormone receptors recognize a specific hormone and translate the hormonal signal into a cellular response.
The hypophysis is a unit formed by the pituitary and the hypothalamus. These two glands are connected by the blood flow in what system?
Hypophyseal portal system
A health care provider is assessing a client for a potential endocrine disorder. Assessment findings identify abnormalities with emotion, pain, and body temperature. Which mechanism of endocrine control will require further laboratory/diagnostic assessment?
Hypothalamus
An adult client is scheduled for testing of a suspected growth hormone (GH)-secreting tumor. Which result from the glucose suppression test would confirm the condition?
Increased GH secretion
A client receives steroids for several months to treat an inflammatory condition. Which action by the primary health care provider indicates an understanding of the negative feedback mechanism when the client no longer needs the medication?
Prescribing a tapering dose of the medication over weeks
Which manifestation would a nurse expect when assessing a child with insufficient growth hormone (GH) secretion?
Rank below 10% on the growth chart
The nurse is caring for a client who is receiving exogenous corticosteroids for rheumatoid arthritis. Recognizing that hormone levels are regulated by negative feedback, which laboratory test result does the nurse anticipate uncovering when reviewing the medical record?
Reduction in ACTH
When describing to a client newly diagnosed with diabetes how insulin is regulated, the nurse will draw upon her knowledge of which hormonal regulation mechanism?
The hypothalamic-pituitary-target cell system
Hormones are usually divided into categories according to their structure. The release of epinephrine would be classified as:
amines and amino acids
The release of insulin from the pancreatic beta cells can inhibit further release of insulin from the same cells. This is an example of which type of hormone action?
autocrine
What factor determines the classification of hormones into one of four categories?
chemical structure
A client with hyperthyroidism is being treated with medication that blocks the activity of thyroid-stimulating hormone. Her care team has determined that she has been overproducing TSH. This client will have lost her ability to:
have negative feedback regulation.
A client has received an injection containing thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) and is now being assessed for serum levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). Which type of diagnostic testing is this client undergoing?
stimulation testing
Which physiologic process allows hormones to exert influence upon some cells and not others?
hormone receptors
When hypofunction of an endocrine organ is suspected, which type of diagnostic test can be administered to measure and assess target gland response?
hormone stimulation
Which gland acts as a signal-relaying bridge between multiple body systems and the pituitary gland?
hypothalamus
A middle-aged female client has been diagnosed with a thyroid condition. The nurse educates the client about the prescription and needed follow-up lab work, which will help regulate the dosage. The client asks, "Why do I not return to the clinic for weeks, since I am starting the medication tomorrow morning?" The nurse bases the answer on the knowledge that thyroid hormones:
may take days for the full effect to occur, based on the mechanism of action.
A client reports multiple nonspecific concerns, and the health care provider has ordered a positron emission tomography (PET). For which is the client being evaluated?
tumors located on the endocrine glands
What is the most common mechanism of hormone control?
negative feedback
Which gland is often referred to as the master gland because it secretes many hormones?
pituitary
Which structure controls the functions of the greatest number of target glands and cells?
pituitary gland
A client with a history of brain tumors that resulted in partial removal of the pituitary gland years ago expresses concern to the health care provider about whether she will be able to breast-feed her infant. Which physiologic function of the pituitary gland facilitates breast milk production?
prolactin
Several hormones, including growth hormone (GH) and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), are bound to and carried by which substance?
protiens
When trying to explain hypothyroidism to a newly diagnosed client, the nurse stresses the fact that the thyroid hormone is transported in blood by specific:
protiens
Hormones are chemical messengers that provide which function in the body?
regulate body functions
A client has developed a tumor of the posterior pituitary gland. The client is at risk for problems with secretions of:
Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and oxytocin
Which physiologic process best exemplifies a positive feedback mechanism?
The increase in prolactin secretion that occurs with more frequent breast-feeding
While reviewing the major actions of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), the faculty points out that in males this hormone is responsible for the:
sperm production
After having a very stressful day in pathophysiology class, the student knows that which hormone (secreted by the adrenal cortex) will help decrease the effects of stress?
Cortisol, a glucocorticoid
A client experiences an increase in cortisol as a result of Cushing disease. Which hormonal responses demonstrate the negative feedback mechanism?
Decreased adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
A nurse examines the laboratory values of a client in heart failure. Which value indicates a compensatory hormone mechanism?
Elevated atrial natriuretic hormone
Select the most accurate statement regarding measurements of urinary hormone.
Provide a better measure of hormone levels during a designated period.
