What is a CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGIST?
In general terms, an
endocrinologist is a physician specialized in studying
Endocrinology (the medical science that deals with endocrine
glands).
A
Clinical Endocrinologist is a
physician further specialized in the practical
treatment and prevention of endocrine problems, i.e. diabetes, and
hormone and metabolism problems. Examples of endocrine problems include:
- Thyroid diseases
- Diabetes (sugar)
- Menopause
- Osteoporosis (bone
thinning)
- Hypertension (high
blood pressure)
- Hyperlipidemia (cholesterol problems)
- Infertility
- Delayed Growth (short
stature)
- Cancers of endocrine glands
(organs specialized in producing hormones)
Endocrine glands (endo = within; crine = secrete)
are body organs that secrete chemicals directly into
the blood (such chemical are hormones); This is in contrast to the Exocrine
glands, which secrete chemicals into a body
cavity that is connected to outside (e.g. the digestive glands of the
bowel that secrete juices into the cavity of the bowel to digest food that gets
in from outside through the mouth).
The
main endocrine glands include:
- Thyroid Gland
- Parathyroid Glands
- Adrenal Glands
- Pituitary Gland
- Part Of The Pancreas
- Part Of The Ovary
- Part Of The Testis
Other organs have a smaller percentage of their cells
produce hormones, e.g. kidney, stomach, heart and brain.
A
hormone is a chemical messenger.
It is a chemical material sent from one cell to other cells in the body,
directing them to do something important for the body's health. It is usually
carried around the body by blood, but it may be carried by other body fluids.
By sending a hormone,
a cell may direct cells far from it (such a hormone-producing cell is called an
"endocrine cell"), direct cells close
by within the same organ (a "paracrine cell"), or even direct itself (an "autocrine cell").