What is endocrinology?
 

What biological role does intercellular chemical communication play?

What is homeostasis?

How are external signals communicated to the tissues of the body?

How are tissue functions coordinated in an organism?

How is reproduction controlled?
 

What are the elements of an intercellular chemical communication system?
 

What are hormones?

What kinds of molecules can be hormones?

How can we define a chemical as a hormone?

How many hormones are known?

At what concentrations do hormones function?
 

What is a "nondestructive medium"?

What do hormone-binding proteins do?

What is a receptor?

Where are receptors found?

What kinds of molecules can act as receptors?

What governs the interactions between hormones and receptors?

How many receptors are there on a cell:

Of one type?

Of any type?
 

What is a transducer?

What is allostery?

What is the role of phosphorylation in endocrinology?

What is the role of signal amplification in chemical signalling?
 

What are effectors?
 
 
 

How is hormone production regulated?

What is negative feedback?

What is positive feedback?

Are hormones produced continuously?

How can hormone levels rise or fall?

What role does anatomy play in regulation?
 

How do pathologies arise from disruptions of the endocrine system?

What do hyper- and hypo- mean?

What are down-regulation and desensitization?

What do primary and secondary failures distinguish?

How do we distinguish between structural, genetic, metabolic, or pathogen associated endocrine problems?
 

How are hormones measured?

What are bioassays?

What are physicochemical assays?

What are immunoassays?

Can measurement be coupled with localization?

Can we distinguish between making a protein and making mRNA?

How can we tell if a hormone is made by a tissue, binds to a receptor in a tissue, or is simply stored in that tissue?

What can we learn from genetically engineered organisms?
 

What are the roles of the hypothalamus and pituitary in the endocrine system?

Where are these structures?

What does the tissue look like?

What kinds of cells does it contain?

What hormones do these cells make?

Where do those hormones act?

How is their production controlled?

How do those hormones act on their targets?
 

What about other classical endocrine tissues?

What is the role of the thyroid gland?

What hormones does it make?

How and where do they act?

How is the thyroid regulated?

Are there any common problems with thyroid function?
 

What is the role of the pancreatic islet cells?

What hormones do they make?

How and where do they act?

How are the pancreatic islet cells regulated?

What is diabetes mellitus?

Type I?

Type II?

What hormones do the adrenals make?

How and where do they act?

How is the adrenal cortex regulated?

What hormones do the gonads make?

In males?

In females?

During pregnancy?

How do these hormones regulate reproduction?

In males?

In females?

In utero?

During parturition?

During lactation?

During puberty?
 

What hormones are involved in immune system regulation and development?

How is thymus function involved?

What do interleukins do?

What are cytokines?

What are interferons?

How do glucocorticoids interact?

What hormones do the parathyroid glands make?

How do these help regulate calcium and phosphate metabolism?

What are their roles in bone physiology?
 

What hormones act to regulate blood pressure?

How do the kidneys, adrenal cortex, heart, and posterior pituitary interact in this connection?
 

What hormones does the pineal make?

How do these help regulate daily physiological rhythms?

Do they interact with other important systems?

Do other kinds of endocrine regulators exist?

What hormones are paracrine and autocrine?

Locally generated growth factors or inhibitors

Labile hormones like eicosanoids

Are any hormones produced by "nonclassical" endocrine tissues?

Cytokines, interleukins, leptin, local peptidergic systems,

neurotransmitters, NO
 

How is endocrinology linked to cancer?
 

How is endocrinology linked to environmental toxicology?
 

How are endocrine pathologies diagnosed?

What roles do histories play?

What roles do hormonal assessments play?

What roles do dynamic tests play?
 

How are endocrine diseases treated?

What are the roles of replacements?

What is the role of surgery?

What is the role of drug antagonists?

What is the role of counselling?
 
 

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