After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Compare the means by which the nervous and endocrine systems regulate body functions.

2. Describe the relationship among chemical signals, receptor molecules, and receptor sites.

3. Describe how membrane-bound and intracellular receptor molecules mediate responses to intercellular chemical signals.

4. List the mechanisms by which intercellular chemical signals produce responses in their target tissues.

5. Describe the categories of intercellular chemical signals that are based on the cells from which they are released and their target cells.

6. List the major categories of hormones on the basis of their chemical structure and describe how they interact with tissues to produce a response.

7. Describe three methods of regulating the release of hormones.

8. State the location of each of the endocrine glands in the body.

9. List the hormones produced by each of the endocrine glands and describe their effects on the body.

10. Describe how the hypothalamus regulates hormone secretion from the pituitary.

11. Describe how the pituitary gland regulates the secretion of hormones from other endocrine glands.

12. Choose a hormone and use it to explain how negative feedback results in homeostasis.