Tests included in CBC

hemoglobin

hematocrit

mean corpusclular hemoglobin

mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration

mean corpuscular volume

platelet count

WBC count

dimerize 2 receptor monomers, bringing their cytoplasmic domains close to one another.

posterior lobe (neurohypophesis or pars nervosa) develops as an extension of the floor of the diencephalon and is nueral tissue.

anterior lobe (adenohypophesis or pars distalis) begins as a pocket of ectoderm that forms in the roof of the primitive pharynx

1. involves activation by a specific G protein of a membrane bound enzyme called phospholipase C
2. This enzyme splits a small fraction of the plasma membrane's phospholipid (phosphoinositol) into 2 signaling substances
1. inositol trisphosphate (ITP or IP3)
2. diacylglycerol
3. the signal pathway branches
4. IP3 is a water soluble substance that enters the cytoplasm and causes the release of Ca++ from intracellular stores in the ER
5. diacyglycerol is a hydrophobic molecule that diffuses freely within the plasma membrane and acts on a specific family of protein kinases (C kinases) distinct from that affected by cyclic nucleotides.
6. the C kinases can then phosphorylate specific proteins within the cell, affecting their function.

Blood Test Reference Range

BUN

Blood Test Reference Range

BUN creatinine ration

Blood Test Reference Range

Bicarbonate

Blood Test Reference Range

Calcium

8.2-10.6 mg/dL

normally slightly higher in children

Blood Test Reference Range

Chloride

Blood Test Reference Range

Creatine Kinase 

(CK or CPK)

male: 38-174 units/L

female: 96-140 units/L

Blood Test Reference Range

Creatinine

Blood Test Reference Range

Hematocrit

Male 45-62%

Female 37-48%

Blood Test Reference Range

Hemoglobin

Male 13-18 gm/dL

Female 12-16 gm/dL

Blood Test Reference Range

Magnesium

Blood Test Reference Range

Platelet count

Blood Test Reference Range

Potassium

Blood Test Reference Range

Prothrombin

(PTT)

Blood Test Reference Range

RBC

Blood Test Reference Range

Sodium

Blood Test Reference Range

WBC

4.3 - 10.8 X 10³ / mm³

or

4,300 - 10,800 cells/ μL / cu mm

Blood Test Reference Range

total protein

^{Blood Test Reference Range}

Acidity (pH)

Ca++ calmodulin activates protein kinases in a way similar to _____A______. 

In skeletal and cardiac muscle, the Ca++ binding protein ______b_____ is attached to the thin filament and controls access of _____c_____ to active binding sites; the molecular structure of the Ca++ binding part of troponin closely resemles ____d_____.

A.   cAMP and ITP

B.    Troponin

C.     myosin heads

D.     calmodulin

microtubules are anchored at one end in a region near the nucleus called the centrosome.

Centrosome acts as a microtubule organizing center

• The heart can maintain a regular rhythm (automaticity) and also modulate its force to meet demand without any neural input 
• Autonomic inputs can modulate both the heart rate (a chronotropic effect) and the contractility or force-generating potential of the heart (an inotropic effect). 
• The classical neurotransmitter released by the parasympathetic postganglionic neurons is acetylcholine (ACh) and the heart, like most other visceral effectors, has muscarinic receptors for ACh. 
• The sympathetic branch can deliver both norepinephrine from its postganglionic fibers and epinephrine from the adrenal medulla via the bloodstream. 
• The adrenergic receptors of cardiac muscle are primarily of the beta-1 type, which can respond to both norepinephrine and epinephrine.

• Each adrenal consists of two very dissimilar glands.
• The inner part is the adrenal medulla, a branch of the sympathetic nervous system that secretes catecholamines. 
• The outer part is the adrenal cortex, a gland that secretes steroid hormones. 

• blood flows through the atria and into the ventricles under the relatively low pressure of blood in veins (several mm Hg);
•  this is referred to as the period of passive filling. 
• Contraction of the atrium adds a small amount of blood to the ventricle (perhaps 10 percent or so under resting conditions); 
• at this point, the ventricle contains its end-diastolic volume (EDV) of blood.

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate

the rate at which the RBCs fall to the bottom of a tube of blood simply through the effect of gravity.

• Thyroid hormones stimulate the metabolism of almost all tissues including both catabolic and anabolic pathways.
• They increase the rate of pumping of Na+ across plasma membranes and the ease with which Na+ leaks into cells.
• this creates a cycle which increases turnover of ATP in cells throughout the body
• Thyroid secretion has a major effect on the basal metabolic rate

• chronically low levels of cortisol cause elevated levels of ACTH in 21-hydroxylase deficiency 
• which stimulates the adrenal cortex to the rate of conversion of cholesterol into the early intermediates of all three pathways
• the intermediates in the pathways leading to cortisol and aldosterone simply pile up at the blocked steps in their pathways and then spill into the pathway of androgen synthesis.
• excess androgen can masculinize the female fetuses if the mother has the defect causing a condition known as androgenital syndrome

1. The hormone binds to receptor’s binding site on the extracellular side of the plasma membrane. 
2. The complex of receptor and hormone activates a G protein associated with the cytoplasmic side of the membrane. 
3. The G protein activates adenyl cyclase, also on the cytoplasmic face of the membrane. 
4. Adenyl cyclase converts a small fraction of the cell’s supply of ATP into cAMP. 
5. The cAMP diffuses throughout the cell, activating a specific family of cytoplasmic protein kinases. 
6. The activated protein kinases attach phosphate groups to intracellular enzymes, activating (or inhibiting) them—an example of allosteric regulation. 
• Changes in gene expression are the result of phosphorylation of a protein called CREB (cyclic AMP response element binding protein). 
• When phosphorylated, this protein can serve as an inducer for the transcription of specific genes. 
7. The second message is terminated as cAMP is converted to an inactive form (noncyclic AMP) by an enzyme called cAMP phosphodiesterase.

devleopment of an enlarged gland (goiter)

inducing the liver to synthesize specific growth factors called somatomedins (aka insulin-like growth factors IGFs)

2 IGFs are identified

IGF-I

IGF-II

rises significantly after every meal

largest part of daily secretion occurs as a pulse or series of pulses after the person falls asleep at night.

In a tyrosine-kinase coupled receptor,

 the cytoplasmic domains first ___A_____ one another, greatly increasing each other's _______B________.

They can then ______C_____ specific signal proteins that activate or inhibit ______D_____ and also exert specific genomic effects.

A.     phosphorylate

B.     tyrosine-kinase

C.     phosphorylate

D.     cytoplasmic enzymes

either or both:

Ca++ entry across the plasma membrane

or

Ca++ release from storage sites within the cell.

1. Growth hormone (HGH; aka somatotropin)
2. Prolactin (PRL)
3. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH; aka corticotropin) 
4. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH; aka thyrotropin) 
5. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH; a gonadotropin)
6. Luteinizing hormone (LH; a gonadotropin)

1. the SA nodal fibers reach threshold and generate an action potential.
2. Teh excitation spreads through atrial contracting fibers and a conducting system that connects the 2 atria, and atrial systole begins
3. in the meantime, the wave of excitation passing through atrial fibers approaches the AV node. 
4. excitation enters the AV node and then spreads into  the bundle of His. The bundle branches give rise to Purkinge fibers that rapidly spread the wave of excitation into the ventricular mass initiating ventricular systole. The wave of excitaiton has been followed by a wave of repolarization in the atria, allowing them to relax.
5. Ventricular repolarization occurs. The ventricles relax and the diastolic phase of a new cycle begins.

1. Tyrosine derivatives
2. Peptides and proteins 
3. Steroids 
4. Eicosanoids

1. renin is a protease that acts on a plasma protein called angiotensinogen to split off angiotensin I
2. angiotensin I is then converted to angiotensin II by angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)
3. angiotensin II acts on the adrenal cortex to increase aldosterone secretion

T3.

This gives these tissues some control over the effectiveness of the hormone.

albumins

globulins

fibrinogen

• is stimulated by growth hormone-releasing factor and inhibited by a release-inhibiting factor called somatostatin

A second form of blood type. 

• Roughly one-sixth of the U.S. population lacks the Rh antigen (is Rh negative), and therefore is able to mount a primary immune response against it. 
• By itself, this fact is not different from the situation with many other blood group antigens. 
• However, the antiRh antibody, like many other antibodies present in the mother’s blood, can cross the placental barrier between mother and fetus and attack fetal red cells.

some of the potential recipient's plasma is mixed with a sample of the transfusion blood.

If agglutination occurs, the blood types are incompatible

• can occur in a second pregancy of Rh positive fetus in a Rh negative mother.
• during first pregancy of Rh + fetus, mother is exposed to fetal blood and develps antibodies
• During 2nd pregancy, the mother's blood contains antibodies which attack the fetal red blood cells.
• if the fetus survives, it can be born with e. fetalis, in hwich destruction of mature red cells causes a form of hemolytic anemia marked by appearance of immature, nucleated red cells in the newborn's blood.
• erythroblastosis fetalis can be prevented by administration of Rhogam, with is a preparation of antiRh antibodies to Rh negative mothers at the time of each delivery.
• the Rhogam binds with an Rh antigen that has entered the mother's bloodstream, preventing it from triggering a primary immune resonse.

1. Binding of cytoplasmic Na⁺ to the pump protein stimulates phosphorylation by ATP.
2. Phosphorylation causes the protein to change its shape.
3. The shape change expels Na⁺ to the outside, and extracellular K⁺binds.
4. K⁺ binding triggers release of the phosphate group.
5. Loss of phosphate restores the original conformation of the pump protein.
6. K⁺ is released and Na⁺ sites are ready to bind Na⁺ again; the cycle repeats.

Calcium

chloride

magnesium

potassium

sodium

The control of ______ release by the hypothalamus does not fit the pattern of other adenohypophyseal hormone, in which small peptide act as releasing factors of release-inhibiting factors.

1. CRF
2. GnRF
3. HGH
4. PRL

the opening of L Ca++ channels, which remain open for most of the plateau period

a delay in the opening of voltage-sensitive K+ channels.

the SA node

about 100 action potentials/minute in the lack of any external input.

Which one of the following is not a hormone secreted by adenohypophesis?

1. carotidtropin
2. growth hormone
3. prolactin
4. thyrotropin

the transfusion is repeated

in a secondary exposure, the recipient already possesses some antibodies and produces more antibodies very rapidly. This immune response will destroy the transfused cells and in the process may cause damage to the recipients tissues.

this is called a transfusion reaction, a form of tissue graft rejection.

atrioventricular node

AV node

cardiac output

CO

• AV valves (atrioventricular valves)
• tricuspid
• mitral
• pulmonary semilunar valve
• aortic semilunar valve

• the pressure of the ventricular blood immediately exceeds the venous pressure, closing the AV valves. 
• At this point the ventricle is contracting as a closed container, so this phase of the cycle is called the period of isovolumetric contraction. 
• When the ventricle raises its pressure to a value that exceeds the arterial pressure, the bicuspid valve opens and a stroke volume of blood is ejected into the artery, rapidly raising the arterial pressure from the diastolic pressure, the minimum value reached just before ejection, to the systolic pressure, the value achieved at the peak of ejection. 
• After ejection, the bicuspid valve closes and the ventricle undergoes isovolumetric relaxation. 
• At this point, the ventricle contains the end-systolic volume of blood. This phase ends when ventricular pressure falls to the venous value, allowing the AV valves to open and passive filling to begin again.

superior venae cavae

inferior venae cavae

coronary sinus

• Cardiac fibers are connected by gap junctions, allowing excitation to spread throughout the heart by moving from one fiber to another.
• Some cardiac fibers are specialized for roles other than contraction.
• nodal fibers
•  serve as pacemakers, generating regular action potentials
• Nodal fibers of the sinoatrial (SA) node in the right atrium near the opening of the superior vena cava, and the atrioventricular (AV) node, near the junction of atrial and ventricular septa, are spontaneously active, giving the heart a property called automaticity.
• conducting fibers, 
• which form a conducting pathway that can rapidly transmit excitation between the atria and throughout the ventricular mass. 
• The conducting fibers of the ventricular mass are called Purkinje fibers. 

During each heartbeat, all of the cardiac fibers are activated. Each heartbeat is the result of a single action potential in each cardiac fiber.

anterior interventricular artery

posterior interventricular artery

ADP

adenosine diphosphate

electrocardiogram

EKG

the outermost layer of the heart wall

RBC

red blood cell

• intiated by chemical factors (tissue thromboplastins) released by damaged cells
• involves activation of Factor VII leading to activation of Factor X and association of Factor X and Factor V to form a prothrombin activator complex.

P wave

QRS complex

T wave

low

high

• Steroid hormones, being only poorly water soluble, typically travel in the blood as complexes with specific carrier proteins. 
• When the complex approaches the plasma membrane of a cell, the steroid may detach and dissolve in the lipid membrane. 
• The steroid enters the cell and is carried to the nucleus. 
• If the cell is a target cell, the steroid binds with a protein nuclear receptor. 

The posterior lobe (the neurohypophysis or pars nervosa), develops as an extension of the floor of the diencephalon, thus is neural tissue 

• The terminals that emanate from neurons in the paraventricular nucleus release the octapeptide hormone oxytocin. 
• The terminals that emanate from the supraoptic nucleus release a similar octapeptide hormone, antidiuretic hormone (ADH), also known as vasopressin. 

anterior lobe (adenohypophysis or pars distalis) begins as a pocket of ectoderm that forms in the roof of the primitive pharynx and ultimately becomes an island of cells cut off from the pharynx by the development of the sphenoid bone.

• secretions of the adenohypophesis
• Growth Hormone HGH
• Prolactin PRL
• adenocorticotropic hormone ACTH
• Thyroid-stimulating hormone TSH AKA thyrotropin
• Follicle-stimulating hormone FSH
• Luteinizing hormone LH 

1. One group includes growth hormone and prolactin. These hormones possess substantial sequence homology—long stretches of their amino acid sequences are similar
2. TSH, FSH, and LH are glycoproteins related to each other and to chorionic gonadotropin. Each of these hormones is composed of two protein chains called alpha and beta subunits. he alpha subunits for all three hormones are the same; differences in the beta subunit alone account for the different effects of the different hormones. 
3. The cellular processes that lead to the hormone ACTH illustrate several general principles of gene expression. The gene that codes for ACTH also contains the code for additional peptide hormones, including beta-lipotrophin, a protein that can be processed into several members of the endorphin family of pain- and mood-modulating hormones. Different endocrine and neural tissues that express this gene secrete different mixes of these substances.

• Hormone secretion varies to oppose changes in a feedback-regulated variable. secretion of insulin is stimulated when plasma glucose levels rise and inhibited when they fall.
• Hormone secretion is regulated by plasma hormone levels.  
• For those hormones that must be secreted at steady rates to sustain long-term processes like growth and sexual differentiation, feedback from the target tissues is less important and direct feedback of the hormone on the secreting gland more important. 
• In this mechanism, high levels of the hormone secreted by a gland inhibit further secretion of the hormone, and low levels stimulate it. 
• Target cells regulate their sensitivity based on hormone levels. 
• In many endocrine systems, the target cells can down regulate receptor numbers in response to high levels of the corresponding hormone, decreasing their sensitivity to the hormone. A corresponding up regulation can occur when hormone levels are low.
•  A second possibility that has the same effect occurs with hormones that are secreted as prohormones and must be converted to another form to have their full effectiveness. 

• Release of growth hormone (somatotropin) is stimulated by growth hormone-releasing factor (GHRF) and inhibited by a release-inhibiting factor called somatostatin. 
• Human growth hormone is designated by the abbreviation HGH and has a central role in the control of growth throughout the body. 
• Congenital failure to synthesize HGH leads to dwarfism. 
• Excess of HGH leads to giantism if it occurs early in life while long bone growth is still possible. 
• Excessive HGH that begins only after adulthood leads to a condition of deformed flat bones and phalanges called acromegaly. 
• HGH acts by inducing the liver (and some other tissues) to synthesize specific growth factors called somatomedins (also called insulin-like growth factors or IGFs). 
• Prolactin (PRL) has a critical role in sustaining milk production and in inhibiting reproductive cycling during lactation. 
• Prolactin secretion is increased during pregnancy, when, along with estrogen, progesterone, and chorionic somatomammotropin, it stimulates the growth of the ducts and alveoli of mammary glands. 
• Except during pregnancy and lactation, prolactin secretion is tonically suppressed by dopamine, a catecholamine that acts as PRL release inhibiting factor (PRLRIF).

the membrane potential is relatively stable during the interval between heartbeats.

at the beginning of a hearbeat, a wave of excitation spreads from pacemakers through the myocardium.

when it reaches each individual myocardial cell and depolarizes it to threshold, this opens voltage-sensitive Na+ channels like those of neurons and skeletal muscle fibers, resulting in a similar rapid upstroke of the membrane potential.

• Aldosterone regulates both Na+ content, and with ADH, extracellular fluid volume.
• Changes in aldosterone levels also have the potential to affect K+ and acid-base homeostasis. 
• Aldosterone participates in K+ regulation—an increase in plasma K+ stimulates its secretion by a direct effect on the adrenal cortex. 

• The two main hormones secreted by the thyroid are tetraiodothyronine (T4, also called thyroxine), and triiodothyronine (T3). 
• Thyroid hormones stimulate the metabolism of almost all tissues, including both catabolic and anabolic pathways. 
• They increase the rate of pumping of Na+ across plasma membranes and the ease with which Na+ leaks into cells. 
• This creates a futile cycle that increases the turnover of ATP in cells throughout the body. 
• Thus, thyroid secretion has a major effect on the basal metabolic rate. 
• As a result of this increase, the rate of heat production increases. 
• The thyroid is quite important for cold adaptation in infants and younger children.
• Thyroid hormones are essential for normal growth and development, particularly of the nervous system. 
• The thyroid secretes a third hormone, calcitonin, which stimulates bone calcification.

hunger

thirst

sexual interest

• Microtubules and microfilaments function in motility by interacting with protein complexes called motor molecules.
• Various types of motor molecules, all powered by ATP, work by changing their shapes, moving back and forth something like microscopic legs.
• with each cycle of shape changes, the motor molecule releases at its free end and grips at a site farther along the microtubule or microfilament.
• mtor molecules can attach to receptors on organelles, such as mitochondria or ribosomes, and enable the organelles to walk along the microtubules of the cytoskeleton.
• in some thypes of cell motility, motor molecules attached to one element of the cytoskeleton can cause it to slide over another element. the sliding of one set of microfilaments past another underlies muscle contraction, and hte sliding of neighboring microtubules moves cilia

WBC

white blood cell

• major form is aldosterone
• have their major effect on the body's homeostatic mechanisms for Na+ and K+

circumflex artery

right coronary artery

• atrail depolarization - P wave
• atrial repolarization - QRS complex
• Ventricular depolarization - T wave
• period when the whole mass of the atria is depolarized, when there is no voltage difference between different parts of the atria and no current flows around the tissue - baseline - PQ interval and 
• period when ventricles are completely depolarized - ST segment

and are carried to the nucleus. If the cell is a target cell, the steroid binds with a protein nuclear receptor.

If the cell is not a target cell, there is no effect.

valve closures.

normal sinus rhythm

oxytocin release: 2 specific roles in femal reproduction

potenitiates uterine contractions during labor

promotes contraction of mammary ducts leading to milk ejection during lactation

internal body conditions:

body temp

energy supplies

fluid volume regulation

reproductive cycling

• the clear straw-colored fluid component of blood
• consists of about 92% water, 7% protein, 1% salts, of which the major one is NaCl
• contains various materials being transported, including:
• gases: O2 and CO2
• nutrients
• wastes
• hormones

a special variety of blood circulation that involves 2 sets of capillaries connected by one or more portal veins.

In this system, blood first flows through capillaries in the hypothalamus where it collects the secreted releasing factors.

It then passes to the 2nd set of capillaries in the adenohypohphysis where the releasing factors are delivered to the endocrine cells

the smallest of the formed elements, only 1-2 microns in diameter.

they are the cellular component of the process of hemostasis

1. hormones possessing substantial sequence homology - long stretches of their amino acids are simila
1. HGH
2. PRL
2. glycoproteins related to each other and to chorionic gonadotropin. composed of 2 protein chains called alpha and beta subunits. alpha subunits for all three hormones are the same.
1. TSH
2. FSH
3. LH
3. cellular processes that lead to ACTH illustrate several general principles of gene expression. The gene that codes for ACTH also contains codes for peptide hormones including beta-lipotrophin

ACTH Production

1. primary transcript of the gene is translatd into a protein sequence called proopiomelanocortin (POMC) that serves as a ____a_____.
2. Posttranslational processing snips the prohormone's sequence to yield _______b_____.
3. The ______c______ of the adenohypophysis snip POMC at 2 points in the middle of the sequence to yield ACTH, discarding the 2 scraps.

A. prohormone

B. shorter sequences of the various hormones

C. corticotrophs

• Cortisol favors resistance to several specific stressors: 
• Survival of food deprivation and recovery from injury. 
• Within a few hours after a meal, the body enters a state called the postabsorptive state in which it is no longer receiving nutrients from food in the intestine and must begin to draw upon its reserves of stored energy. 
• Cortisol is an important hormone of the postabsorptive state, the other main hormones being epinephrine from the adrenal medulla and glucagon from the pancreas. 
• This combination of hormones has three main effects: 
• an increase in the breakdown of glycogen stores in the liver and muscle
• an increase in fat breakdown
• an increase in the rate of breakdown of nonessential proteins, making their amino acids available for synthesis of essential proteins and/or for metabolism for energy.
•  Resistance to infection. Appropriate levels of cortisol are necessary for vigorous immune responses. 
• Paradoxically, high levels of cortisol suppress some aspects of immune function, and cortisol can be used as a drug for this purpose.

• is an example of a single chemical mediator with multiple roles in different tissues:
• hormone-releasing factor GHRF
• serves as a GI tract hormone

• sit on kidneys
• each consists of 2 very dissimilar glands
• adrenal medulla
• inner portion
• branch of the sympathetic nervous system that secretes catecholamines
• adrenal cortex
• outer part
• secretes steroid hormones

• a collection of chromaffin cells - sympathetic postganglionic neurons that lack axons and are modified to serve as a neurosecretory organ, releasing the catecholamines epinephrine and norepinephrine into the bloodstream.
• preganglionic cells that control adrenal medullary secretion are located in spinal segments T6-T11.
• the axons of these neurons course in the thoracic splanchnic nerves, pass through the celiac plexus and terminate in the adrenal medulla.

• mineralocorticoids
• glucocorticoids
• gonadocorticoids

• major form is cortisol
• major effects are on energy production during fasting and on immune system function.
• are released during a variety of stressful life situations, including starvation, exhaustive exercise, intense emotion, and injury (including surgery)

• sex hormones
• adrenal cortex secretes both adrongenic and estrogenic steroids.

• blood enters the left atrium from the 4 pulmonary veins which return oxygenated blood to the heart
• blood passes through the mitral or bicuspid valve
• enters the left ventricle
• contraction of the left ventricle forces blood through the aortic semilunar valve into the aorta

• blood enters the right atrium
• passes through the tricuspid valve
• enters the right ventricle
• is pumped through the pulmonary simlunar valve that leads to the pulmonary trunk
• the pulmonary trunk branches into the right and left pulmonary arteries that carry blood to the lungs

1. decrease in the Na+ concentration of blood (hyponatremia), an indicaotr of a need to conserve more Na+
2. A decrease in the rate of blood flow to the kidney, an indicator of hypovolemia, a need to form additional extracellular fluid

• in the distal tubule, the part of the renal tubule that responds to aldosterone, the recovery of Na+ from the tubular fluid must be matched by secretion of K+ and H+ to maintain electric charge neutrality.
• changes in aldosterone levels also have the potential to affect K+ and acid-base homeostasis.
• aldosterone participates in K+ regluation - an increase in plasma K+ stimulates its secretion by a direct effect on the adrenal cortex.
• an excess of aldosterone, which occurs in some disorders of the adrenal cortex, causes a syndrome of elevated blood pressure (hypertension), depressed plasma K+ (hypokalemia), and excessive plasma alkalinity (alkalosis)

• supply of adrenal steroids is inadequate
• characteristics (J F Kennedy)
• Muscle weakness and fatigue
• Weight loss and decreased appetite
• Darkening of your skin (hyperpigmentation)
• Low blood pressure, even fainting
• Salt craving
• Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
• Nausea, diarrhea or vomiting
• Muscle or joint pains
• Irritability
• Depression

• excess mineralocorticoid causes a condition of hypervolemic hypertension.
• excess glucocorticoid cuases mobilization of fat, particularly from the lower body, leaving excess fat deposits in the face and upper body
• protein is also mobilized with the effect that muscle mass diminishes and tissues become more delicate
• anti-insulin effects of glucocorticoid cause a decrease in tissue glycogen stores and an elevation of plasma glucose levels

sinoatrial node

SA node

poorly water soluble

travel in the blood as complexes with specific carrier proteins.