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Pituitary Gland Case Summary

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5. If the pituitary is so important, and Eric is not getting replacements of hormones the pituitary makes (except for the one from question 4 above), why isn’t he dead? To answer this question think through the cascade of events from the hypothalamus to effect. You will need to think about homeostatic feedback loops and the regulations of hormones. Before we can discuss why Eric is alive without a functioning pituitary gland we must first understand how the pituitary gland functions within the endocrine system. The pituitary gland is a pea sized gland that sits at the base of the brain and is attached to the hypothalamus by the pituitary stalk (infundibulum). The pituitary gland consists of two different portions, the anterior lobe and the posterior lobe. The anterior lobe is responsible for synthetization …show more content…

Low testosterone affects more than just a male’s sex drive. Testosterone affects many other aspects of a male’s health, particularly his overall bone health. Low levels of testosterone can lead to osteoporosis and some studies even say it can affect life expectancy. Since Eric’s cause for low testosterone is due to lack of FSH and LH production from the pituitary his condition is referred to as secondary hypogonadism. There are many different treatment options for testosterone replacement, there are gels, pills, shots, patches and long acting pellets. These treatments bring testosterone levels back into normal ranges which can be monitored by simple blood tests. Bringing testosterone levels back to normal ranges would not help Eric with his issue of being sterile. Eric is sterile because his pituitary gland does not secrete LH and FSH which responsible for sperm production in the testes. Sterility would have to be treated with replacement therapies of LH and FSH. If Eric is strictly trying to maintain testosterone levels then the above mention therapies would be

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