Endocrinology: General Information


Have you ever ask yourself why do most children choose their moms over their dads? Why do others have white complexion while others suffer from dark one? Why do you feel such excitement when you’re in love? Why do women experience mood swings in their menstrual period? Why do some people are taller than you? How come you eat too little then you gains weight a lot? Maybe you already experienced that when you fall in love or your crush smiles at you, your palms sweat, you can stutter and it feels like you have butterflies in your stomachs. All these questions that jog in your mind can be answered by eight letters. If your thinking about HORMONES and your just right. Yes! It’s all about hormones to be blame.


Maybe you already wonder why all these stuffs are all about hormones. For better understanding, first let’s define what is hormone. Hormone is the substance secreted by the specific organs making up the Endocrine System. But what is Endocrine System? Cliché as it may sound, “No man is an island”.  As the word system implies it is the bunch or collection of different organs located in various parts of the body that are working simultaneously as response to the changes that occurs somewhere in the body. And the study that deals with this is called Endocrinology. As I knew it, Endocrinology is a network of signals that are too busy regulating different biochemical processes in the body. This is what keeps you growing, developing, and working the way it supposed to. It secretes hormones that influence almost every cell, organ and function of our body. It’s like a race trying to aim for the finish line. In which, the racers serve as the signals or the hormones aiming for the site of action in the body to convey their functions.

To understand further, just click the play button of this video clip.



What makes hormones unique is that it has different kinds that function for a specific stimulus. Sometimes hormones can overlap to its function and work together for changes to occur. Thus, to be able to identify, hormones are classified either on structure and tissue origin. Some are responsible for growth, emotions, metabolism, secondary characteristics and homeostasis. But not all came up to be good, sometimes when these network of signals is disrupted  like changes in hormone patterns and trouble of the endocrine process this can lead to problems and can result in a disease.



Have you ever wondered why there are people that are too small (pygmy) or too tall (gigantism)? Once again it’s due to hormones. In this picture it shows that the person is suffering from gigantism. Gigantism is due to the excess release of growth hormone during childhood, before the epiphyseal plate (bone growth plate) have closed. Thus, resulting in abnormal growth or gigantism. 

Indeed, it is still hormone that makes you feel excited, blush, sweat when you see your crush, what makes your brother/sister taller than you and what makes you feel emotional. And sometimes, in the worse side, to have disorders like for example gigantism, goiter, and Cushing syndrome and so on.


What I had written here is just brief information about Endocrinology; I suggest you read more books for further understanding and to learn more about Endocrinology. For the next topic to be discussed it’s all about toxicology and its division.





References:
Donald F. Calbreath, Clinical Chemistry A Fundamental Textbook
Catherine B. Niewoehner, Endocrine Pathophysiology: 2nd Edition
Nussey S. Whitehead, Endocrinology: Integrated Approach

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Endocrinology: General Information