Chapter 34  Introduction to the Endocrine System

Chapter 34  Introduction to the Endocrine System

Complete Chapter Questions And Answers
 

Sample Questions

1. The nurse is discussing the endocrine system with a class of nursing students. What substance would
the nurse label as a hormone?

A) Acetylcholine

B) Norepinephrine

C) Nucleic acid

D) Serotonin

Ans: B

Feedback:

A hormone is secreted directly into the bloodstream and travels from the site of production to react with
specific receptor sites to cause an action. Norepinephrine, which is a neurotransmitter, is a hormone
when it is produced in the adrenal medulla, secreted into circulation, and travels to norepinephrine
receptor sites to cause an effect. Acetylcholine and serotonin are neurotransmitters, but are not
hormones. Nucleic acid is used to build deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid.

2. What organ should the nurse recognize as the coordinating center for the nervous and endocrine
responses to internal and external stimuli?

A) Hypothalamus

B) Pituitary gland

C) Thyroid gland

D) Parathyroid gland

Ans: A

Feedback:

The hypothalamus is the coordinating center for the nervous and endocrine responses to internal and
external stimuli. The pituitary, thyroid, and parathyroid glands all play an important role in maintaining
homeostasis, but they do not connect the nervous and endocrine systems.

3. What criteria can the nurse use to describe all hormones?

Test Bank – Focus on Nursing Pharmacology (7th Edition by Amy Karch) 553

A) They are produced in very large amounts.

B) They circulate until they are used by receptor cells.

C) They are secreted directly into the tissue where they react.

D) They travel in the blood to specific receptor sites.

Ans: D

Feedback:

Hormones are chemicals that are produced in the body and meet specific criteria. All hormones are
produced in very small amounts and are secreted directly into the bloodstream. They travel in the blood
to specific receptor sites throughout the body and are immediately broken down.

4. The nurse is caring for a patient with abnormal calcium levels. What thyroid hormone does the nurse
expect this will impact?

A) Aldosterone

B) Calcitonin

C) Erythropoietin

D) Insulin

Ans: B

Feedback:

Calcitonin is produced and secreted by the thyroid gland in direct response to serum calcium levels.
Aldosterone is an adrenocorticoid hormone that is released in response to adrenocorticotropic hormone.
Erythropoietin is released by the juxtaglomerular cells in the kidney in response to decreased pressure
or decreased oxygenation of the blood flowing into the glomerulus. Insulin is produced by the pancreas
in response to varying blood glucose levels.

5. The nurse explains the end result of the hypothalamus in regulating the central nervous system (CNS),
autonomic nervous system (ANS), and endocrine system is what?

A) Regulation of the negative feedback system

B) Creation of a diurnal rhythm

C) Maintenance of homeostasis

D) Production of prolactin-inhibiting factor (PIF)

Ans: C

Feedback:

The hypothalamus maintains internal homeostasis by sensing blood chemistries and by stimulating or
suppressing endocrine, autonomic, and CNS activity. In essence, it can turn the ANS and its effects on
or off. The negative feedback system is one way homeostasis is maintained. When the hypothalamus
senses a need for a particular hormone, it secretes a releasing factor directly into an area such as the
anterior pituitary. This causes the area to produce a hormone. When the hypothalamus senses a rising
level of the hormone it stops secreting the releasing factor, which decreases the hormone production.
When this occurs the hypothalamus senses the falling hormone level and the releasing factor is secreted
again. This process is how the hormone level is maintained. Diurnal rhythm refers to the release of
hormones at various times of the day. PIF, produced by the hypothalamus, acts as a regulator to shut off
production of hormones when levels become too high.