PTH a hypercalcemic hormone?

[WordSword]

TBR calls PTH a hypercalcemic hormone and calcitonin a hypocalcemic hormone (see TBR bio book I p. 308).

Wouldn't the modifier be opposite, namely, that PTH is a hypocalcemic hormone and calcitonin is a hypercalcemic hormone?

I thought the hormone would be modified in such a way as to indicate the conditions upon its release, not upon its effect.

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[Cawolf]

Their descriptions are correct and follow convention.

Calcitonin promotes the reuptake and excretion of calcium in the blood - promoting hypocalcemia.

Oh I see - I didn't fully understand what you were asking. Hormones will be described by their action from what I have seen. This does not come up to much though in my experience as most minerals are not regulated as tightly as calcium - with multiple hormones in control.

I just wanted to verify my thoughts and I did confirm this is the convention - such as glucagon being referred to as the hyperglycemic hormone. An example of it's use can be seen in this article. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7088751

 

[WordSword]

Thank you Cawolf!

It does seem odd though that hormones would be classified by effect because you don't want it to be producing those results, at least in my thinking. For example, since PTH is called the hypercalcemic hormone, then wouldn't that go against homeostatic ideas? Instead of calcium concentration returning to homeostasis upon hypocalcemic conditions its effect is producing systemic hypercalcemia?

This is probably a semantic problem that I have to ignore and accept, but it does seem odd.

 

[Cawolf]

Yes I definitely see your point. I guess it is just convention though and now we just roll with it!