Endocrinology

Endocrinology

What Is Meant By Endocrinology?

• Endocrinology is a branch of medicine that deals with the endocrine system,
  which controls the hormones in your body. Its diseases, and its specific secretions
  known as hormones.
  It is also concerned with the integration of developmental
  events such as:
  Proliferation.
  Growth and differentiation.
  The psychological or behavioral activities of metabolism.
  Growth and development.
  Tissue function.
  Sleep,
  Digestion.
  Respiration.
  Excretion.
  Mood.
  Stress.
  Lactation.
  Movement.
  Reproduction.
  Sensory perception caused by hormones.
  Specializations include behavioral endocrinology and comparative
  endocrinology.
• The Anatomy of the Endocrine System.
  Adrenal gland.
  Hypothalamus.
  Pineal body (pineal gland).
  Pancreas.
  Thyroid gland.
  Parathyroid glands.
  Testes.
  Ovaries.

How the Endocrine System Work?
The endocrine system’s glands and organs release hormones that regulate a
number of vital functions of our body. These glands include the hypothalamus,
pineal body, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenals, pancreas, testes and
ovaries.
The hormones in your body all have specific jobs to complete. There are up to 40
different hormones circulating in your blood at any time. Once released into the
bloodstream, a hormone travels throughout the body until it reaches its specific
destination(s) to perform its function. These destinations, called targets, can be
located either on other endocrine glands or on other organs and tissues in the
body. When a hormone reaches its target, it tells that part of your body what
work to do, when to do it and for how long. Hormones are often referred to as
the “messengers” because they help different parts of the body communicate.

Here we discuss different types of hormones that are secreted by this
glands in the body, including:
Endocrinology is the study of the endocrine system in the human body. This is a
system of glands which secrete hormones. Hormones are chemicals that affect
the actions of different organ systems in the body. Examples include thyroid
hormone, growth hormone, and insulin.

• Hormones.
  1-Amines.
  Amines, such as norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine (catecholamine’s),
  are derived from single amino acids.
  2-Peptide and protein.
  Peptide hormones and protein hormones consist of three (in the case
  of thyrotrophic-releasing hormone) to more than 200 (in the case of follicle-
  stimulating hormone) amino acid residues and can have a molecular mass as large
  as 31,000 grams per mole. All hormones secreted by the pituitary gland are
  peptide hormones, as are leptin from adipocytes, ghrelin from the stomach,
  and insulin from the pancreas.
  3-Steroid.
  Steroid hormones are converted from their parent
  compound, cholesterol. Mammalian steroid hormones can be grouped into five
  groups by the receptors to which they
  bind: glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, androgens, estrogens,
  and progestogens. Some forms of vitamin D, such as calcitriol, are steroid-like and
  bind to homologous receptors, but lack the characteristic fused ring structure of
  true steroids.

What Happens When the Endocrine System Does Not Work?
Hormonal function is a balancing act. Too much or too little of one hormone can
have an impact on the release of other hormones. If this hormonal imbalance
occurs, some of your body’s systems will not work properly.
These imbalances can often be corrected by the body itself. Your body has built-in
mechanisms to keep track of and respond to any changes in hormone levels to
bring them back to normal and restore the balance.
Sometimes, however, this system goes wrong and there can be a problem that
the body can’t fix itself. In this case, a primary care physician will refer you to an
endocrinologist, who is an expert in treating frequently complex (and often
chronic) conditions which can involve several different systems within the body.