APII Study Guide Home Page

Endocrine Study Guide

How to Study the Endocrine System

Step 1. Separate the mechanisms and study those separately.

Follow the mechanisms step-by-step.

Think: "I am here and I need to go there. How do I get there?"

Think of it in terms of a road map and draw charts with arrows that direct you where you need to go.

for example:

Growth Hormone

TRIGGER Low level of Growth Hormone (& other factors)

ß

Hypothalamus Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone

Anterior Pituitary Growth Hormone

(liver, muscle, bone)

Insulin Like Growth Factors

ß ß

Muscle Growth

Targets & Stimulates Epiphyseal Plate

Amino Acid Transport

Cell Growth

(general somatic growth)

ß ß

INHIBITOR High Level Of Growth Hormone High Level of

Insulin Growth Factor

Hypothalamus Somatostatin

Step 2. Work on the hormones and endocrine glands in little pieces.

You need to know:

the name of the gland,
where it is at,
what it produces,
why it produces that,
the target organ,
the effect on the target organ
what happens when you have too little or too much.

That is a lot to cover. You can not memorize all of it, but you can learn it this way.

Step A. Learn the names of the glands and their locations.

Step B. Learn the names of the glands and their locations and what the gland produces.

Step C. Learn the names of the glands and their locations and what the gland produces and why it produces it.

Step D. Learn the names of the glands and their locations and what the gland produces and why it produces it and its target organ.

Step E. Learn the names of the glands and their locations and what the gland produces and why it produces it and its target organ and the effect on that organ.

Step F. Learn the names of the glands and their locations and what the gland produces and why it produces it and its target organ and the effect on that organ.

Step G. Learn the names of the glands and their locations and what the gland produces and why it produces it and its target organ and the effect on that organ what happens when there is to little hormone.

Step H. Learn the names of the glands and their locations and what the gland produces and why it produces it and its target organ and the effect on that organ what happens when there is to little hormone and what happens when there is too much hormone.

The repetition is essential to keep the material together in your head.

It is much easier to learn this material in pieces than in one big lump.