A Lab Exercise – Tissues And Hormones Of The Endocrine System (Lab Report Sample)

Lab Exercise – Tissues and Hormones of the Endocrine System Alyssa Joy Villarosa April 1, 2018 Introduction The Endocrine system is one of the most essential parts of the body. Its functions encompass almost every aspects of our body’s functioning and regulation – from sleeping, metabolism, mood regulation, and reproduction amongst others CITATION Zim18 \l 1033 (Zimmermann, 2018). Structurally, this whole system consists of eight (8) major glands together with the pancreas that functions for hormone secretion and digestion, respectively CITATION Kem17 \l 1033 (Kemp, 2017). Hormone secretion is crucial for the body as these chemicals could either act as an inhibitor or stimulator, through process of feedbacks that then maintains the body’s homeostasis. In this lab experiment, the researchers conducted a more in-depth study about the structure and function of the system. Particularly speaking, the focus would be on the different cells that makes all of these processes possible. Its structures, functions and the specific regulatory mechanisms would be examined in further detail and compared to one another. In the succeeding section of this study, a focus on the origins on both tropic and non-tropic hormones, their target tissues, and its effects would also described. Although, it would only be the structure that would be focused with the staining process of the experiment. All in all, the researchers believed that by knowing the very structures of these cells, it would be easier to understand the very processes that are ongoing and keeping us alive. Material List: No materials are required for this experiment Methods: The experiment starts with procuring a microscope and the samples of different endocrine cells. After securing these a well-lit spot was found in order to provide a better magnification of the samples. Throughout the whole process, the order in which the samples were studied was from low, to medium, and to the highest magnification in order to provide a clearer view of the whole structure. All of them were also labeled based on the structures found. The order and the specific structures of each sample that was examined is given below. 1 Pituitary Gland – Anterior; acidophil cells and basophil cells. Posterior; Nucleus of the Pituicyte. 2 Thyroid gland – Follicular Epithelial cells and Colloid 3 Adrenal Gland – capsule, zona glomerulosa, medulla, zona reticularis, zona fasciculate 4 Pancreas – Islet and Acinar Cells 5 Ovary – Follicles 6 Testes – spermatogonium, spermatocytes, and leydig cells To provide a better representation of the structures, the researchers tabulated the results. Lastly, supplementary analysis of these structures were also done. Results/data: Photo Pituitary Gland Label: acidophil cell, basophil cell, and nucleus of pituicyte The acidophil cells are those which are strongly stained and have more developed outlines. The Basophils have large black spots for their “secretory granules”. The nucleus of the pituicytes are the smaller ones Thyroid gland Label: follicular epithelial cells, colloid The Follicular Epithelial cells are the ones that are surrounding the colloid. Colloid is colored red. Adrenal gland Label: capsule, zona glomerulosa, medulla, zona reticularis, zona fasciculate The capsule is in the outermost part of the circle (cell), followed by the Glomerulosa, Fasiculata, Reticularis, then the Medulla in the center. The different regions are represented in different stains. Pancreas Label: islet, acinar cells The Islet cells are the ones with a lighter pink stain, whereas the acinar cells are the darker ones. Ovary Label: follicles This sample shows the whole Ovarian follicle with its structures including oocytes, corpus luteum, stroma, etc. Testes Label: spermatogonium, spermatocytes, and leydig cells The spermatogonium could be seen near the outside of the circle, with darker stains. The spermatocytes are next with lighter ones. The Leydig cells are the circles with the lightest stain. They are interstitial. Discussion: Through a careful observation of the tissues, one of the most apparent observations that could be made is that endocrine glands are usually characterized by layers of cells that function differently. These layers are almost always comprised of different cells that secrete different types of hormones. Nonetheless, the reason for the differences in terms of their stains is due to their structural characteristics. One example of this would be the Pituitary Gland. Structurally, the pituitary gland is made up of two parts – Anterior and Posterior – and these parts are made up of different kinds of cells. The anterior pituitary in the first slide could be seen as darker in color as compared to the posterior pituitary gland. This is because cells like somatotropes (GH); Lactotropes (PRL); gonadotropes (LH and FSH); corticotropes (ACTH) and thyrotropes (TSH) are tightly concentrated in anterior (albeit basophils and acidophil are the only one visible), whereas the posterior is mostly made up of non-myelinated axons that are neurosecretory in nature (Tziaferi & Dattani, 2018). The second slide shows a cell of the Thyroid Gland. The red part of the slide is made up of a fluid called the colloid whereas the cells with black spots are the follicular epithelial cells. Together, the latter contains the prohormone thyroglobulin, which then stimulates the Thyroid to release the Thyroid hormone. The next slide shows a cross-section of the Adrenal Gland. As could be seen from the slide, the differences in terms of stains reflect the different layers that it has. Correspondingly each of the layers produces a different type of hormone, targets different types of tissues, and is somehow controlled by different regions of the brain. For example, the cortex is controlled by the pituitary gland and produces corticosteroid hormones for the regulation of blood pressure, while the medulla creates both epinephrine and non-epinephrine that helps in coping for physica...