end-organ resistance
The definitions used in this glossary of terminology either have been provided by the authors of the articles, or have been extracted wholly or in part, or paraphrased from the following sources: The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine, Charles B. Clayman, MD, Medical Editor, Random House, New York, 1989; Biotechnology from A to Z, 2d Edition, William Bains, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; A Dictionary of Genetics, 6th Edition, Robert C. King and William D. Stansfield, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 29th and 30th Editions, W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 2000, 2003; Genes VII, Benjamin Lewin, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2000; The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders, Volumes I and II, Stacey L. Blachford, Ed., Thomson Learning, New York, New York, 2002; The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield, Massachusetts, 1997; Molecular Biology of the Cell, 3rd Edition, Bruce Alberts, et al., Garland Publishing, 1994; The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged Edition, 1966; Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1991.
DEFINITION:
- end-organ resistance
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Multiple hormones are carried in the bloodstream but a given hormone affects only those cells that comprise its specific end-organ. In the case of the anti-diuretic hormone, vasopressin, the end-organ is the kidney, specifically the cells of the collecting ducts. These are normally rendered water permeable by vasopressin. In nephrogenic diabetes insipidus the vasopressin receptors of these cells are genetically altered so that they fail to respond; thus the end-organ is said to be resistant to vasopressin (Crawford).
Used in 2 Article abstracts
Used in 2 Article abstracts