ANAT2241 Endocrine System

From Embryology

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ANAT2241 This practical support page content is not part of the virtual science practical class and provides additional information for student self-directed learning purposes. All practical class pages are located on Moodle - ANAT2241

General Objective

To know the histological and cytological features and hormones of the endocrine glands.

Specific Objectives

  1. To know the structure of the thyroid and parathyroid glands and the hormones secreted.
  2. To know the histology of the adrenal cortex and medulla and the hormones secreted by each section.
  3. To understand the close relationship between the hypothalamus and the pituitary.
  4. To know the parts of the hypophysis (pituitary). To identify chromophil (acidophil, basophil) and chromophobe cell types of the pars distalis and the hormones associated with each group of cells. To describe the structure of the neurohypophysis and the process of neurosecretion.
  5. To know the histology of pancreatic islet cells and their hormonal secretions.

Learning Activities

Examine the following virtual slides, identify draw and label the following structures. Note the hormone secreted by the various structures and their major function.


Virtual Slides: Endocrine System

Endocrine Axes

Many of the endocrine organs act together as part of a signalling axis, beginning with the hypothalamus. There is also a sex-specific axis for female (ovary) and male (testis), both identified as gonad.

Histology

Note this support page includes additional endocrine gland histology that may not be covered in the current practical class, or has been covered in previous classes in the course.

Pineal

Pineal_histology

Pineal (high power)

Thyroid

Thyroid histology Thyroid histology
Thyroid (low power) Thyroid (high power)
Thyroid Links: low power image | high power image | unlabeled human image | unlabeled sheep image | thyroid

Parathyroid

Parathyroid histology Parathyroid histology
Parathyroid (low power) Parathyroid (high power)

Pancreas

The specific cell types within the pancreatic islets cannot be identified by routine histology staining and require specialised immunostaining techniques.

Pancreatic Islet - Endocrine cells from human (fetal and adult) and mouse (adult) pancreas.

Pancrea_histology
  • Blue - nuclear staining (all cell)
  • Green - glucagon (alpha cells)
  • Red - insulin (beta cells)

A–C: Section of adult mouse pancreas stained for glucagon (green) and insulin (red).

D–F: Section of an adult human pancreas stained for glucagon (green) and insulin (red).

G–I: Section of a human fetal pancreas analyzed 4.5 months after transplantation and stained for glucagon (green) and insulin (red).

Nuclear staining (blue) was performed with DAPI. Scale bars: 25 µm.

Pituitary

Turkish saddle-17th century.jpg The shape of the bone base of the skull surrounding the pituitary led to the naming sella turcica (Latin, sella = saddle; turcica = Turkish), as when first identified the bony space resembled this saddle shape. Historic-pituitary.jpg
Pituitary - Adenohypophysis
Pituitary histology Pituitary histology Pituitary histology
Pituitary Histology: Pituitary overview | Anterior H&E | Anterior H&E | Anterior labeled | PAS/O Overview | Acidophils | Basophils | Posterior labeled | Posterior unlabeled | Histology Stains | BGD - Endocrine Histology | Pituitary Development

Adrenal



Course Links

Moodle - ANAT2241 - 2019

Histology Glossary: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | ANAT2241 Support | Histology | Histology Stains | Embryology Glossary


Common Histology Stains  
Histology Stains - Common Stains and Their Reactions
Stain
Nucleus
Cytoplasm
Collagen
RBCs
Other
Haematoxylin
blue
-
-
-
mucins - light blue
Eosin
-
pink
pale pink
bright red
colloid - pinkmuscle - red
Iron Haematoxylin
blue/black
-
-
-
Van Gieson
-
brown/yellow
red
yellow
muscle: yellow/browncartilage - pink
Verhoeff's Elastin
black
-
-
-
elastic fibres - black
Tartrazine
-
yellow
yellow
yellow
Silver Impregnation
-
-
grey/brown
-
reticular fibres - black
Methyl Green
dark green
light green
light green
green
Nuclear Fast Red
red
pink
pink
pink
Gomori's Trichrome
purple/red
purple
green
red
keratin - redmuscle - purple/red
Heidenhain's Azan
red
purple/red
deep blue
red
muscle - red
Osmium Tetroxide
-
-
brown
brown
myelin, lipids - black
Alcian Blue
-
-
-
-
mucins, - blue
Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)
-
-
pink
-
mucins, glycogen, glycocalyx - magenta
Phosphotungstic Acid-Hematoxylin (PTAH)
blue
-
red
blue
muscle bands - blue
Masson's Trichrome
blue/black
red
green/blue
red
cartilage, mucins - blue or green; muscle - red
Luxol Fast Blue
-
-
-
variable
myelin - blue
Aldehyde Fuchsin
-
-
-
-
elastic fibres, mast cells - deep purple
Light Green
-
-
light green
-
Gallocyanin
dark blue
-
-
-
nucleic acids, Nissl granules - dark blue
Romanowsky (e.g. Leishman's)
blue
pink
acidophils - red, basophils - blue, azurophilic - purple
Aldehyde Pararosanilin elastic fibres - purple
Haematoxylin and Eosin
One of the most common staining techniques in pathology and histology. Acronym "H and E" stain. (H&E, HE).


Haematoxylin
  • Stains nuclei blue to dark-blue.
  • Stains the matrix of hyaline cartilage, myxomatous, and mucoid material pale blue.
  • Stains myelin weakly but is not noticeable if combined with eosin stain.
  • combined with Orange G (H & Or. G.) instead of eosin, specifically stains the granules of acidophilic cells of the adenohypophysis (anterior pituitary).
Eosin
  • Stains cytoplasm pink to red; red blood cells are also bright red.
  • Common counterstain to hematoxylin.
  • Stain intensity varies with the formula as well as the fixative.

Practical Support

Pages can be accessed from any internet connected computer.

ANAT2241 Support Links: The Virtual Microscope | Covering and Lining Epithelia | Glandular Epithelia | CT Components | CT Types | Bone, Bone Formation and Joints | Muscle | Nervous | Blood | Eye | Cardiovascular | Respiratory | Integumentary | Gastrointestinal | Gastrointestinal Organs | Lymphatic and Immune | Endocrine | Urinary | Female Reproductive | Male Reproductive | Histology Stains | Histology Drawings | Practicals Health and Safety 2013 | Moodle - 2019


ANAT2241 This practical support page content is not part of the science practical class and provides only background information for student self-directed learning purposes.


Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, March 19) Embryology ANAT2241 Endocrine System. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/ANAT2241_Endocrine_System

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© Dr Mark Hill 2024, UNSW Embryology ISBN: 978 0 7334 2609 4 - UNSW CRICOS Provider Code No. 00098G