ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY II · MODULE 13
Inflammation resets the thermostat
Drifting calcium, off-key PTH, low vitamin D and a flattened cortisolA glucocorticoid involved in stress response, metabolism, and immune regulation. rhythm — four endocrine findings, blamed on perimenopause. This module builds the endocrine systemThe organ system consisting of glands that secrete hormones to regulate body functions. and reads them as set-points nudged by a body-wide inflammatory signal.
The findings this module reads together
Calcium is one of the most tightly regulated numbers in the body, and hers would not sit still. Vitamin D was low, PTH was unsettled, and her morning cortisol — the hormone meant to peak as she wakes — had flattened.
An endocrinologist offered perimenopause, which explains the timing and none of the pattern. Hormone systems run on negative feedbackA control mechanism that reverses a change in the body to maintain homeostasis., and feedback loopsBiological mechanisms that regulate homeostasis by responding to changes. can be pressured from outside. Read together, these are not four glandular diseases; they are set-points shifted by chronic inflammation.
PATIENT CHART · STINA · CHART CLUE #13
- Labs — Calcium drifting, PTH off-key
- Labs — Vitamin D low
- Labs — Morning cortisol flattened
- Dx offered — Perimenopause
Seven parts, one chart
Each part opens with a finding from Stina’s chart and asks you to commit to a prediction before any video plays, then alternates short videos with H5P activities. Work them in order.
13.1
The Wandering Calcium
A tightly regulated number that will not sit still.
CALCIUM REGULATION
13.3
The Thermostat: Negative Feedback
How endocrine values switch off as well as on.
NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
13.7
Inflammation-Reset Set-Points
Four endocrine findings, one systemic signal.
CHART CLUE #13
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The Evidence Behind the Case
Every step of this module’s reasoning, paired with the peer-reviewed literature behind it.
REFERENCES
What you’ll be able to do
By the end of Module 13 you will be able to:
1
Identify the major endocrine glands and the hormones they secrete.
2
Compare steroid and peptide hormone mechanisms of action.
3
Explain negative feedback control and predict the effect of disrupting it.
4
Describe the hypothalamic-pituitary axes and their target organsOrgans affected by specific hormones..
5
Explain calcium homeostasisThe maintenance of a stable internal environment in the body. and the roles of PTH, vitamin D, and calcitoninA hormone from the thyroid that lowers blood calcium levels by inhibiting osteoclasts..
6
Relate chronic inflammation to shifted endocrine set-points.
List of terms
- cortisol
- endocrine system
- negative feedback
- feedback loops
- receptors
- target organs
- homeostasis
- calcitonin