Disorders of the endocrine system are among the most challenging to diagnose, and yet the most fascinating of all medical conditions. The endocrine system is in essence a system of cellular communication, and abnormalities of one system can have ripple effects that affect many distant organ systems. I liken the whole physiological picture of the endocrine system to a three dimensional string structure known as a cat's cradle. As with the cat's cradle, when you shorten or lengthen one string the whole figure has to change to accommodate the new reality. With the endocrine system, excess or deficiencies of one hormone often leads to far reaching compensatory changes in many others. Because of this, it is sometimes difficult to tell for certain the initial or underlying problem. The endocrine system is one area in which the clinical laboratory can be extraordinarily helpful to you.

In this unit we will focus on thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, endocrine pancreas and the pituitary. (Endocrine disorders of reproduction are dealt with in the reproductive unit.) As regards the histology of endocrine glands, you may not think it is possible to tell if there had been a state of hyper or hypo-functioning, but in fact it is. We will be looking at histological changes in the thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal gland that will tell us much about the level of active of these glands. In addition to states of hyper and hypo-activity of the glands, we will look at non-functioning benign and malignant tumors as well as combined or multiple glandular abnormalities. There's a lot of ground to cover.
 
 

Slide 10, colloid goiter of thyroid.	Slide 11, follicular adenoma of thyroid.	Slide 12, treated hyperthyroidism.	Slide 24, papillary adenocarcinoma of the thyroid.	Slide 25, Hashimoto's thyroiditis.	Slide 81, adrenal cortical hyperplasia.
Slide 82, pheochromocytoma of adrenal medulla.	Slide 97, adrenal with tuberculosis.	Slide 102, pituitary with histiocytosis.	Slide 102, pituitary with histiocytosis, a higher power view.	Slide 109, adrenal cortical adenoma.	Slide 109, adrenal cortical adenoma a higher power view.
Slide 143, small intestine with carcinoid.	Slide 149, pituitary adenoma.	Slide 79, kidney with chronic pyelonephritis.	Online case of hyperthyroidism	Low calcium	Stopped too soon
					Let me Have the quiz!
Normal pituitary	Normal parathyroidid	Normal adrenal gland	Normal Thyroid	Endocrine slide overview

 

Mark Braun, MD braunm@indiana.edu
Copyright 1998, the Trustees of Indiana University