By Adam Garcia
This week in Diabetic Dictionary we will discuss what an endocrinologist is, how endocrinology affects the body and where to find your own endocrinologist.
Endocrinology, the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the endocrine glands, includes disorders such as diabetes. An endocrinologist is a physician in internal medicine who specializes in disorders related to the endocrine system. He also specializes in growth hormone, as well as other hormones, and manages diabetes. It is best to have this type of physician in your corner, in my opinion, due to the fact that he is the one who takes responsibility for your diagnosis and treatment.
The foundations of the endocrine system are the hormones and glands. As the body’s chemical messengers, hormones transfer information and instructions from one set of cells to another. Many different hormones move through the bloodstream, but each type of hormone is designed to affect only certain cells. A gland is a group of cells that produces and secretes, or gives off, chemicals. A gland selects and removes materials from the blood, processes them, and secretes the finished chemical product for use somewhere in the body. Some types of glands release their secretions in specific areas. Endocrine glands, on the other hand, release more than 20 major hormones directly into the bloodstream where they can be transported to cells in other parts of the body.
The major glands that make up the human endocrine system include the:
- hypothalamus
- pituitary gland
- thyroid
- parathyroids
- adrenal glands
- pineal body
- reproductive glands (which include the ovaries and testes)
Although the endocrine glands are the body’s main hormone producers, some other organs not in the endocrine system – such as the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, and skin – also produce and release hormones. The pancreas is a part of the body’s hormone-secreting system, even though it is also associated with the digestive system because it produces and secretes digestive enzymes. The pancreas produces two important hormones, insulin and glucagon. They work together to maintain a steady level of glucose, or sugar, in the blood and to keep the body supplied with fuel to produce and maintain stores of energy.
Although we rarely think about the endocrine system, it influences almost every cell, organ, and function of our bodies. The endocrine system is instrumental in regulating mood, growth and development, tissue function, metabolism, and sexual function and reproductive processes. Which explains when a patient has diabetes; so many processes are affected, such as clinical depression and erectile dysfunction in men. Of course, there are other symptoms; however it goes to show that many parts of the body can be affected.
Don’t wait to choose your endocrinologist today! You can find one here. If you need any further help in choosing an endocrinologist you can email us or leave a question or comment below.
