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The Hormone Adrenaline (Cambridge O Level Biology)
Revision Note
The Hormone Adrenaline
- Adrenaline is known as the 'fight or flight' hormone as it is produced in situations where the body may be in danger
- Flight = remove oneself rapidly from a dangerous situation eg. run away
- Fight = if flight is not possible, resort to physical combat to overcome danger
- It causes a range of different things to happen in the body, all designed to prepare it for movement (i.e. fight or flight)
- These include:
- Increasing blood glucose concentration to deliver more important glucose to muscle cells for increased respiration
- Increasing pulse rate and breathing rate so glucose and oxygen can be delivered to muscle cells, and carbon dioxide taken away, from muscles cells more quickly
- Diverting blood flow towards muscles and away from non-essential parts of the body such as the alimentary canal; again to ensure the reactants of respiration are as available as possible
- Dilating pupils to allow as much light as possible to reach the retina so more information can be sent to the brain
- Examples of situations where these effects may occur are:
- Being faced with danger
- An adventurous activity e.g. riding a roller coaster
- Extreme sport e.g. skydiving or bungee jumping
- Risky behaviour/activity e.g. parkour
- A scary incident e.g. a car accident
Examiner Tip
It is worth learning this list of effects of adrenaline as it is a fairly common exam question and can be worth several easy marks.
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