Name: Abigail Young

Exercise 4: Endocrine System Physiology: Activity 4: Measuring Cortisol and Adrenocorticotropic Hormone Lab Report
Pre-lab Quiz Results
You scored 100% by answering 5 out of 5 questions correctly.
1. Cortisol
You correctly answered: d. is a hormone important in the body's response to stress.
2. ACTH
You correctly answered: d. is a tropic hormone that stimulates cortisol release.
3. CRH
You correctly answered: b. has a tropic effect on the anterior pituitary gland.
4. Cushing's syndrome refers to
You correctly answered: c. a hypercortisolism, which could be iatrogenic.
5. A condition of hypocortisolism
You correctly answered: d. refers to low levels of cortisol in the blood.

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Experiment Results
Stop & Think Questions:
Normally high levels of cortisol would inhibit release of
You correctly answered: c. both ACTH and CRH
Which hormone(s) stimulate(s) the pituitary gland to release ACTH?
You correctly answered: a. CRH
Experiment Data:
Patient
1
2
3
4
5

Cortisol
(mcg/dl)
2.45
37.25
42.86
3.96
46.10

High/Low

ACTH
(pg/ml)
16.98
12.45
82.25
99.07
18.80

Low
High
High
Low
High

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High/Low
Low
Low
High
High
Low

Post-lab Quiz Results

You scored 100% by answering 6 out of 6 questions correctly.
1. Under normal conditions, if the amount of secreted CRH increases, then
You correctly answered: c. the amount of secreted ACTH will increase.
2. Under normal conditions, if the amount of secreted ACTH increases, then
You correctly answered: d. the amount of secreted CRH will likely decrease.
3. Under normal conditions, if the amount of secreted cortisol increases, then
You correctly answered: b. the amount of secreted ACTH will likely decrease.
4. If a hypersecreting pituitary tumor develops, then an expected outcome is
You correctly answered: a. a diagnosis of Cushing's disease.
5. If a hypersecreting adrenal cortex tumor develops, then an expected outcome is
You correctly answered: b. abnormally low levels of CRH due to negative feedback.
6. A patient's chart lists the diagnosis of Addison's disease. Therefore, you expect
You correctly answered: b. abnormally high levels of ACTH.

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Review Sheet Results

1. Which patient would most likely be diagnosed with Cushing's disease (view Table 4.1 in Experiment Results)? Why?
Your answer:
Patient 3 would be most likely be diagnosed with Cushing's disease. This is due to the fact that they exhibited high cortisol
and ACTH levels in their blood samples.
2. Which two patients have hormone levels characteristic of Cushing's syndrome (view Table 4.1 in Experiment Results)?
Your answer:
Patient 2 and 5 most likely have hormone levels that are consistent with those of Cushing's Disease.
3. Patient 2 is being treated for rheumatoid arthritis with prednisone. How does this information change the diagnosis (view
Table 4.1 in Experiment Results)?
Your answer:
Prednisone reduces cortisol in the blood by supressing the adrenal glands. This would cause a decrease in the ability for
cortisol to be released when stimulated by ACTH. This hypothesis is consistent with that of the experiment results.
4. Which patient would most likely be diagnosed with Addison's disease (view Table 4.1 in Experiment Results)? Why?
Your answer:
Patient 4 has low cortisol levels but has high ACTH levels, which suggests adrenal insufficieny. Low levels of cortisol are
caused by damage to the anterior pituitary gland- ACTH works hard to compensate for the losses created by the damage.

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