1st Edition
General and Comparative Endocrinology An Integrative Approach
General and Comparative Endocrinology: An Integrative Approach, takes a holistic approach to endocrinology, introducing students to the diverse facets of this interdisciplinary science ranging from the medical to comparative domains, while also exploring evolutionary, environmental, and conservation specializations within the field. The textbook is founded on the principle that students interested in the health sciences will benefit from understanding how proficiency in endocrine function among a diversity of organisms contributes to advances in modern medicine. Likewise, students intrigued by comparative physiology will benefit from the wealth of knowledge derived from medical/clinical endocrinology, the historical bedrock of the field. This textbook represents the modern field of endocrinology in its totality by addressing topics and recent advances not currently discussed in other introductory endocrinology textbooks.
Key Features
- Introduces the broad and interdisciplinary scope of endocrinology.
- Provides clear chapter objectives and key concepts.
- Includes summary and synthesis questions for each chapter that are suitable for exams and quizzes.
- Includes a chapter devoted to endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
- Describes the roles played by the endocrine system in important health challenges related to appetite regulation, obesity, diabetes, and other diseases stemming from ‘mismatches to modernity’.
- Integrates evolutionary and comparative approaches to hormones and health.
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Author Biography
List of Abbreviations
Unit Overview Unit I. Introduction to Endocrinology
1. The Scope and Growth of Endocrinology
2. Fundamental Features of Endocrine Signaling
3. Evolution of Endocrine Signaling
Unit Overview Unit II. Mechanisms of Hormone Action
4. Hormone Classes and Biosynthesis
5. Receptors
6. Receptor Binding Kinetics
Unit Overview Unit III. Neuroendocrinology
7. Neurosecretion and Hypothalamic Control of the Pituitary
8. The Pituitary Gland and Its Hormones
9. Central Control of Biological Rhythms
Unit Overview Unit IV. Developmental Endocrinology
10. Thyroid Hormones. Development and
11. Insect Molting and Metamorphosis
12. Calcium/Phosphate Homeostasis, Skeletal Remodeling, and Growth
Unit Overview Unit V. Stress, Blood Pressure, and Ion Balance
13. The Multifaceted Adrenal Gland
14. Adrenal Hormones and the Stress Response
15. Blood Pressure and Osmoregulation
Unit Overview Unit VI. Appetite, Digestion, and Metabolism
16. Digestion
17. Appetite
18. Energy Homeostasis
19. Metabolic Dysregulation and Disruption
Unit Overview Unit VII. Reproduction
20. Sexual Determination and Differentiation
21. Male Reproductive System
22. Female Reproductive System
23. The Timing of Puberty and Seasonal Reproduction
24. Pregnancy, Birth, and Lactation
Unit Overview Unit VIII. Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals
25. EDCs: Assessing the Risk
Appendix 1. Endocrine-Related Nobel Prizes Awarded in the Last Century
Appendix 2. Some Examples of Endocrine Breakthroughs Using Non- Mammalian Model Organisms
Appendix 3. Classical and Modern Concepts in Endocrinology
Appendix 4. Some Vertebrate and Arthropod Hormones and Their Characteristics
Appendix 5. Some Diseases Associated with GPCR Dysfunction
Appendix 6. Some Diseases Associated with Nuclear Receptor Dysfunction and Their Treatments
Appendix 7. The 48 Known Members of the Human Nuclear Receptor Family Categorized According to Sequence Homology
Appendix 8. Primary Enzymes of Steroid Hormone Biosynthesis
Appendix 9. A Summary of Steps in Human Digestion
Appendix 10. Failures in Contraceptive Function during the First Year of Use
Appendix 11. Secondary Sexual Characteristics in Females and Males Associated with Puberty
Appendix 12A. Tanner Stages of Breast and Pubic Hair Development in Females
Appendix 12B. Tanner Stages of External Genitalia and Pubic Hair Development in Males
Appendix 13. Classifications of Some Common Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals
Glossary
Index
Biography
Alex Schreiber is a comparative endocrinologist at St. Lawrence University where he holds the R. Sheldon ‘68 and Virginia H. Johnson Professorship in the Sciences. He teaches classes in endocrinology, cell biology, and physiology. His research addresses vertebrate metamorphosis, focusing on the influences of thyroid hormones and glucocorticoid stress hormones on amphibian development. He received a B.A. in biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder. After serving in the U.S. Peace Corps in Kenya, he went on to earn an M.S. in biology from Eastern Washington University studying the osmoregulatory physiology of migrating salmon under the tutelage of Dr. Ronald J. White. He then earned a PhD in zoology at the University of Rhode Island studying the endocrinology of flatfish metamorphosis with Dr. Jennifer Specker. He pursued postdoctoral research at the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Embryology, studying the molecular biology of amphibian metamorphosis in Dr. Donald Brown’s laboratory. His summers are spent in East Africa where he teaches classes in wildlife biology and high altitude physiology.
