MLT GlobeAnatomy: Endocrine glands
10 Anatomy MCQs on Endocrine glands with answers and explanations.
Besides the nervous system, which body system coordinates distant organs by releasing chemical messengers into the blood?
Endocrine glands secrete hormones into the bloodstream to signal target organs, which is why hormone assays reflect this internal communication network.
Which islet cells of the pancreas release somatostatin?
Delta cells secrete somatostatin, which inhibits insulin and glucagon release. Alpha cells secrete glucagon and beta cells secrete insulin.
Which statement about the thyroid gland is correct?
The thyroid wraps around the upper trachea below the larynx and secretes T3, T4 and calcitonin. ADH comes from the posterior pituitary; prolactin starts lactation.
Which two endocrine structures lie within the brain itself?
The hypothalamus (diencephalon) and pineal gland (epithalamus) are brain structures. The pituitary hangs below in the sella turcica.
The pituitary gland sits in a saddle-shaped depression (sella turcica) of which bone?
The hypophyseal fossa lies in the body of the sphenoid. The occipital bone houses the cerebellum's fossa; the ethmoid forms nasal conchae.
Which structures lie against the sides of the larynx?
The thyroid lobes lie lateral to the larynx and trachea. The hyoid is above, the trachea below, and the laryngopharynx behind.
Which hormone is produced in greatest amount by the anterior pituitary?
Somatotrophs are the most numerous anterior pituitary cells, and growth hormone is its most abundant hormone.
Which description fits the left adrenal (suprarenal) gland?
The left adrenal is crescentic and lies on the medial border of the left kidney. The right adrenal is pyramidal and lies behind the liver.
Pituicytes, the supporting glial cells, are found in which part of the pituitary?
The neurohypophysis contains axons from hypothalamic neurons supported by pituicytes; it stores ADH and oxytocin.
Via its hypophyseal branches, the internal carotid artery supplies which gland?
Superior and inferior hypophyseal arteries arise from the internal carotid and supply the pituitary. The thyroid is supplied by thyroid arteries from external carotid and subclavian.