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Study Of Endocrinology
The study of endocrinology is associated with the study of the endocrine system and the secretion of hormones from there, and the related chemical processes happening as a result of that. The endocrine system is actually composed of many glands that secret their respective hormones into the blood. Depending on their synthesis and function hormones have different roles to play. |
Based on chemical composition, hormones can be classifies into three types. They are amines, peptides and steroids. Amines are those proteins that are derived from single amino acids. For example, the thyroid hormones like 3, 5, 3’-triiodothyronine or T3 and ,5,3’,5’-tetraiodothyronineor thyroxine, also called T4 are all made from two molecules of iodinated tyrosine amino residues.
Peptide hormones are the ones that have been made from more than one amino acid residue. They contain peptide bonds between the amino acids and may have large molecular weights. Fro example, insulin secreted from the pancreas and all hormones secreted by the pituitary gland are all peptide hormones. Steroid hormones are the sex hormones which are created from cholesterol either in the gonads or in the adrenal glands.
Endocrinology originates from China. As way back as 200 B.C., the Chinese used complex methods such as sublimation to isolate sex hormones from the pituitary and use them for medicinal uses. It was Berthold who laid the foundation for European endocrinology. Although these were all generally associated with isolating hormones, a clear understanding of the diseases and the biological function of hormones was provided by philosophers such as Aristotle, Hippocrates and so on.
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