Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Intermediate Practice Exam

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Prepare for the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Intermediate Test with focused study methods including flashcards and multiple-choice questions. Practice with hints and detailed explanations to boost your readiness for the exam.

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

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What does adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulate in the adrenal cortex?

Insulin secretion
Cortisol secretion
Follicle-stimulating hormone secretion
Thyroid hormone secretion

The correct answer is: Cortisol secretion

Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) plays a crucial role in the regulation of the adrenal cortex. It primarily stimulates the production and secretion of cortisol, a vital glucocorticoid hormone. Cortisol is essential for various physiological processes, including metabolism, immune response regulation, and stress response management. When ACTH is released from the anterior pituitary gland, it binds to specific receptors on the cells of the adrenal cortex, leading to the stimulation of cortisol synthesis and release into the bloodstream. This interaction is a key component of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which is important for the body's response to stress and maintaining homeostasis. The other choices involve hormones or actions that are not directly associated with ACTH. Insulin secretion is primarily regulated by the pancreas, follicle-stimulating hormone is involved in reproductive processes and is secreted by the pituitary gland but is not influenced by ACTH, and thyroid hormone secretion is regulated by thyroid-stimulating hormone from the pituitary, not ACTH. Therefore, the role of ACTH in stimulating cortisol secretion makes it the correct choice in this context.