NOTE: The provided figures may be useful and beneficial & you should consider including them in your learning log. Keep up the good work & be an Intentional Learner.

Chapter 44

  1. Researchers found that a camel standing in the sun required much more water when its fur was shaved off, although its body temperature remained the same. What can you conclude about the relationship between osmoregulation and the insulation provided by fur?
  2. Suppose a bird & a human both have gout. Why might reducing purine in their diets help the human much more than the bird?
  3. Compare and contrast the different ways that metabolic waste products enter the excretory systems of flatworms, earthworms, and insects.
  4. The drug furosemide blocks the co-transporters for Na+ & Cl- in the ascending limb of the loop of Henle. What effect would you expect this drug to have on urine volume?
  5. If blood pressure in the afferent arteriole leading to the glomerulus decreased, how would the rate of blood filtration within Bowman’s capsule be affected? Explain.
  6. Why could it be dangerous to drink a very large amount of water in a short period of time? Explain.
  7. Conn’s syndrome is acondition caused by tumors in the adrenal cortex that secrete high amounts of aldosterone in an unregulated manner. What would you expect to be the major symptoms of this disorder?

Chapter 45

  1. Suppose you were studying a cell’s response to a particular hormone, and you observed that the cell continued to respond to the hormone even when treated with a chemical that blocks transcription. What would you surmise about the hormone and its receptor? Why?
  2. Propose an explanation for why people with defects in specific endocrine pathways typically have defects in the final gland in the pathway rather than in the hypothalamus or pituitary.
  3. In a glucose tolerance test, periodic measurements of blood glucose level are taken after a person drinks a glucose-rich solution. In a healthy individual, blood glucose rises moderately at first but falls to near normal within 2 – 3 hours. Predict the results of this test in a person with diabetes mellitus. Explain your answer.
  4. Suppose you receive an injection of cortisone, a glucocorticoid, in an inflamed joint. What aspects of glucocorticoid activity would you be exploiting? If a glucocorticoid pill were also effective at treating the inflammation, why would it still be preferable to introduce the drug locally?

Chapter 46

  1. Compare & contrast the outcomes of sexual and asexual reproduction and then state what conditions favor each mode of reproduction?
  2. If a hermaphrodite self-fertilizes, will the offspring be identical to the parent? Explain.
  3. Explain why using a hot tub frequently might make it more difficult for a couple to conceive a child.
  4. If each vas deferens in a male was surgically sealed off, what changes would you expect in sexual response and ejaculate composition?
  5. Why do anabolic steroids lead to a reduced sperm count?
  6. If a human female begins taking estradiol and progesterone immediately after the start of a new menstrual cycle, how will ovulation be effected?
  7. What route would oxygen in the mother’s blood follow to arrive at a body cell of the fetus?