The sympathomedullary pathway and the role of cortisol
When you face a sudden threat, your brain triggers a fast hormonal chain reaction. This floods your body with adrenaline and prepares you to fight or run away.
Real World
A cyclist who nearly collides with a car experiences an immediate surge of adrenaline — heart rate spikes, palms sweat, and vision sharpens — all driven by the sympathomedullary pathway activating within seconds.
Exam Focus
Keep the SAM pathway (fast, adrenaline) and HPA system (slow, cortisol) clearly separated; mixing them up is the single most penalised error on stress physiology questions.
Evaluation Scaffold
A four-step framework for high-quality evaluation. Use this for 'assess', 'evaluate', and 'to what extent' questions.
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