Q 01/05

Because 'Adrenalin' was a registered trademark in the US, American medicine adopted which generic name for the hormone?

A) Norepinephrine

B) Epinephrine

C) Ephedrine

D) Cortisone

Answer · why

B) Epinephrine

Epinephrine became the US generic name because a drug firm was already selling the hormone as Adrenalin. Britain kept adrenaline, so one hormone still...

Q 02/05

A few neurons in which part of the brain, the one that controls heartbeat and breathing, also make adrenaline?

A) The cerebellum

B) The medulla oblongata

C) The hippocampus

D) The frontal lobe

Answer · why

B) The medulla oblongata

The medulla oblongata, at the base of the brainstem, holds a small cluster of adrenaline-making neurons that help control the circulation. The adrenal...

Q 03/05

Where in the body are the suprarenal glands?

A) Behind the heart

B) Below the brain

C) Above the kidneys

D) Beside the liver

Answer · why

C) Above the kidneys

Above the kidneys, one perched on each, yet they are not part of the urinary system. They belong to the hormone system and simply share the kidneys' a...

Q 04/05

Adrenaline is often credited for 'hysterical strength', as in the classic tale of a mother lifting what off her trapped child?

A) A piano

B) A car

C) A horse

D) A boulder

Answer · why

B) A car

A car is the usual object, and a few real cases exist: in 2006 an Arizona man raised a Camaro off a trapped cyclist. Science can't test it, since no l...

Q 05/05

The outer cortex of the adrenal gland produces which class of chemical messenger?

A) Steroids

B) Catecholamines

C) Peptides

D) Prostaglandins

Answer · why

A) Steroids

Steroids are the cortex's product, every one of them built from cholesterol. The gland's core works almost as a separate organ and makes adrenaline in...