Endocrine disruptors are environmental chemicals, which, if people and other animals are exposed, can have hormone-mimicking or hormone-blocking effects. These chemicals are used in industries and in homes and are associated with such commonly-used products such as pesticides and herbicides, plastic food containers, and baby bottles. Those that mimic or block sex steroids are of special concern, because they are present in household plastics and are fat-soluble, thus easily stored in fatty tissue of the body and can affect a developing fetus. Research is ongoing and results are controversial, but these chemicals have been associated with:
A. delayed sexual maturity in fish;
B. poor masculinization of genitals in male alligators with decreased ability to produce offspring;
C. feminized behavior in male rats, and in humans;
D. decreased lactation;
E. diminished male genitals and semen quality; and
F. early puberty.
For each condition A-F, specify which hormones may have been blocked or mimicked. (Endocrine regulation in fish, alligators, and rats is nearly identical to that in humans.)
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Examples of endocrine disorders. (C) A patient with congenital hypothyroidism.
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