Endocrinology

Endocrinology (from the Greek endon, “within,” krino, “to separate,” and logos, “study”) is the science of the structure and function of the endocrine glands (glands of internal secretion), the products they produce (hormones), how those products are formed and affect animal and human organisms, and diseases caused by impaired gland function or hormone action. Endocrinology is also a medical specialty that studies the endocrine glands in the human body, the diseases associated with them, and methods for their diagnosis and treatment. A physician in this field is called an endocrinologist. Modern endocrinology Modern endocrinology began in 1848, when the British physician Thomas Addison began studying a severe disease characterized by increasing muscle weakness, fatigue, exhaustion, and ultimately the patient's death. During autopsy, Addison noted damage to the adrenal cortex. In 1856, Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard proposed that the adrenal glands, and possibly other glands, produced and released specific substances into the blood that regulated the body's normal function. Further research confirmed this hypothesis. In 1905, the British physiologists William Bayliss and Ernest Starling introduced the word “hormone” for the first time. Endocrinologist: safe and highly informative The endocrine system has the following functions: => It participates in the humoral (chemical) regulation of bodily functions and coordinates all organs and systems; => It maintains the body's homeostasis under changing environmental conditions; => Together with the nervous and immune systems, it helps regulate: – the growth and development of the body; – reproductive function and reproduction; – the formation, use, and storage of energy; => In interaction with the human nervous system, hormones help support: – emotional responses – human mental activity – human behavior For example, the pituitary gland controls the function of several endocrine glands and is itself controlled by the hypothalamus, a part of the diencephalon. Visit HARMONIA Medical Center for an examination and consultation with an experienced endocrinologist.