Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases
The branch of medicine whose subject is hormones is called Endocrinology. The word hormone is Latin “Hormanein”, which means to stimulate or activate.
The first definition of hormone was “substances secreted into the blood from endocrine glands, which in very small amounts show effects in distant tissues or organs that are targets”.
Hormones are secreted from special tissues in the body called endocrine glands (also known as internal secretion glands). However, it is now known that some other organs that are not endocrine glands also secrete hormones.
Hormones are substances that can affect growth, development, reproduction, eating, drinking, metabolism, cardiovascular system, brain and nervous system functions, sleep, sweating or in other words, almost every function of the body.
Endocrinology is a branch of science that examines the structures of the endocrine glands in which hormones are made, their under- or overactive states, the structures of one or many hormones they secrete, their secretion mechanisms and the various factors governing these mechanisms and their effects on various organs, the disease states and treatments that occur as a result of these effects.
The main hormones secreted by the pituitary gland: ACTH (Adrenocorticotropic Hormone), TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone), LH (Luteinizing Hormone), FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone), PRL (Prolactin), ADH (Antidiuretic Hormone),
Hormones secreted from the thyroid gland: T4 (Thyroxine), T3 (Triiodotronin),
PTH (Parathormone) from the Parathyroid Gland,
Above Kidney Glands: Adrenaline, Noradrenaline, Cortisol, Aldosterone etc.
Pancreas: Insulin, Glucagon
Ovaries: Estrogen, Progesterone in the female (ovary); Testosterone in the male (testis)
Apart from the many hormones secreted by the endocrine glands, hormones are also secreted from many organs such as the brain, heart and blood vessels, stomach and intestines, kidneys, etc. and they show their necessary effects throughout the body.
