Endocrinology is the branch of medicine that deals with studying the endocrine glands and hormones in relation to their nature, production and action. The internal secretion glands are the thyroid, the parathyroid glands, the pituitary gland, the epiphysis, the thymus, the adrenal glands, the endocrine pancreas, the interstitial gland of the testicle, the interstitial gland of the ovary. These are all the glands that release a hormone, the product of their secretion, into circulating fluids.
What does the endocrinologist do?
The endocrinologist is responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of all those disorders affecting the glands with internal secretion of the human body, and of the pathologies reported by these disorders.
Among the pathologies treated most frequently by the endocrinologist, we note:
- Short
- Diabetes
- Metabolic disorders
- Infertility
- Thyroid disease
- Menopause
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Cholesterol problems
- Puberty Problems (Early or Delayed)
- Excessive or insufficient production of hormones
- Osteoporosis and bone fragility
- Endocrine gland tumors
What are the procedures most used by the endocrinologist?
The endocrinologist is a specialist who is able to diagnose a wide variety of pathologies and manage disorders due to deficiency or excess of one or more hormones and substances which, in many cases, can also occur for a long time.
Some of the most frequent diseases of the endocrine system, such as hypothirodism , diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, but also chronic pathologies, need to be cured for life. The endocrinologist mostly carries out laboratory tests , which he uses to a greater extent than specialists active in other branches of medicine. Many of the pathologies that occur in the endocrine glands must be diagnosed by stimulating or inhibiting the functioning of the gland itself .
This occurs by administering agents that inhibit or stimulate the activity of the gland. Subsequently, the patient’s blood is subjected to specific analyzes to evaluate any changes caused by the substance administered. The diagnostic imaging is an important part of the work endocrinologist.
When to ask for an appointment with the endocrinologist?
When carrying out laboratory tests, which reveal anomalies that suggest the presence of an endocrine imbalance , it is good practice to ask for an appointment with the endocrinologist. An appointment should also be asked when new symptoms related to your endocrine disease occur ; in the event that you have been living with an endocrine disease for several years, but there are problems in managing it ; if you need to have a second opinion on the diagnosis and / or management of the already existing endocrine disease.
