RT Book, Section
A1 Parker, Keith L.
A1 Schimmer, Bernard P.
A2 Brunton, Laurence L.
A2 Chabner, Bruce A.
A2 Knollmann, Björn C.
SR Print(0)
ID 1127869134
T1 Introduction To Endocrinology: The Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis
T2 Goodman & Gilman's: The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 12e
YR 2015
FD 2015
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071624428
LK accesspharmacy.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1127869134
RD 2020/04/10
AB Endocrinology  analyzes  the  biosynthesis  of  hormones,  their  sites  of  production,  and  the  sites  and  mechanisms  of  their  action  and  interaction.  The  term  hormone  is  of  Greek  origin  and  classically  refers  to  chemical  messengers  that  circulate  in  body  fluids  and  produce  specific  effects  on  cells  distant  from  their  point  of  origin.  The  major  functions  of  hormones  include  the  regulation  of  energy  storage,  production,  and  utilization;  the  adaptation  to  new  environments  or  conditions  of  stress;  the  facilitation  of  growth  and  development;  and  the  maturation  and  function  of  the  reproductive  system.  Although  hormones  were  originally  defined  as  products  of  ductless  glands,  we  now  appreciate  that  many  organs  that  were  not  classically  considered  as  "endocrine"  (e.g.,  the  heart,  kidneys,  GI  tract,  adipocytes,  and  brain)  synthesize  and  secrete  hormones  that  play  key  physiological  roles;  many  of  these  hormones  are  now  employed  either  diagnostically  or  therapeutically  in  clinical  medicine.  In  addition,  the  field  of  endocrinology  has  expanded  to  include  the  actions  of  growth  factors  acting  by  means  of  autocrine  and  paracrine  mechanisms,  the  influence  of  neurons—particularly  those  in  the  hypothalamus—that  regulate  endocrine  function,  and  the  reciprocal  interactions  of  cytokines  and  other  components  of  the  immune  system  with  the  endocrine  system.