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[wethrby]

When the carnival was scheduled to come to a small town, health professionals who felt that the sideshows were cruel and exploitive, joined the local consumer groups to enforce truth-in-advertising laws. They demanded that the fat man, the dwarf, the giant, and the bearded lady will be billed as "people with endocrine system problems" (which of course removed all the sensationalism usually associated with these attractions). Identify the endocrine disorders in each case and explain how (or why) the disorder produces the characteristic features of these four showpeople.

[ji]

fat man
- reduced secretion of thyroid gland
- thyroid hormones increase the metabolic rate, so when the amount of hormones needed for normal functioning is not present, the excess substances are being deposited as fat

dwarf
- reduced secretion of STH from the pituitary gland

giant
- increased secretion of STH from the pituitary gland

bearded lady
- 21-hydroxilase deficit which leads to increased secretion of male sex hormones in the adrenal glands

[porter]

I can answer some of your question but not all, sorry. Growth hormone is secreted through the endocrine system. When not enough is secreted (mostly likely due to genetics or pituitary gland function), the results is dwarfism. When too much is secreted you get opposite results. Now with the fat man and bearded lady these are more complicated. The "fat man" could most likely like a thyroid problem. When someone suffers from hypothyroidism their body releases too much thyroid hormone. The bearded lady could possibly have Addison's Disease which is caused by a dysfunction of the adrenal gland (endocrine). Facial hair on women is one of the symptoms.