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Basic Medical Endocrinology, Fourth Edition provides up-to-date coverage of rapidly unfolding advances in the understanding of hormones involved in regulating most aspects of bodily functions. The discussion focuses on molecular and cellular aspects of hormone production and action firmly rooted in the context of integrative physiology. Topics are approached from the perspective of a physiologist with over 40 years of teaching experience. This fourth edition is richly illustrated in full color with both descriptive schematic diagrams and laboratory findings obtained in clinical studies. Each of the fourteen chapters starts with an 'Overview' of the topic and ends with a 'Suggested Reading' list. Initial chapters lay a foundation by presenting basic information and principles of hormone structure, secretion, and actions, and the physiological roles of the principal endocrine glands. Subsequent chapters address the role of the endocrine system in solving such physiological problems as the regulation of the volume and composition of body fluids in the face of changing environmental demands, and the regulation of short and longterm energy balance. The final chapters deal with the indispensable role of hormones in growth, development and reproduction. * Strikes an excellent balance between systems/organismal level of overview and cellular/molecular analysis* Richly illustrated with over 250 full color figures, descriptive schematic diagrams, and laboratory findings* All chapters have been thoroughly rewritten and updated, including new discussions of adrenal steroid biosynthesis, the parathyroid in osteoporosis, obesity and metabolism, as well as an entirely new chapter on gastrointestinal hormones* Editor has 45 years of experience teaching endocrinology and physiology to medical students at Harvard and UMass

Amazon Sales Rank: #19069 in Books Published on: 2008-09-01 Original language: English Number of items: 1 Dimensions: 2.65 pounds Binding: Hardcover 344 pages

Review Praise for the previous edition:"...clear chapter organization and elegant illustration. It would be a useful purchase for academic and clinical medical libraries, and may be picked up as the primary text for courses in endocrinology at medical schools." -E-STREAMS (2003)"...provides first year medical students with a basic knowledge of normal endocrine physiology a both cellular and molecular levels and prepare them for more advanced studies of endocrine pathology and therapies."-TRENDS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM (September 2003)"...provides a solid overview of endocrine function and control...an introductory text that provides a solid basis of background information for the aspiring clinician, or for students planning to progress in a direction that investigates a broader range of organisms."- GENERAL & COMPARATIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY (July 2003)"...presents the subject of human endocrinology in a way that actually makes the reader want more...this is an outstanding text for medical students, graduate students, and researchers who need a good reference book in the field."-LIFE SCIENCE BOOK REVIEW (2003)"Basic Medical Endocrinology should provide first year medical students with a basic knowledge of normal endocrine physiology at both cellular and molecular levels and prepare them for more advanced studies of endocrine pathology and therapies."-UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER"The fourth edition of this highly successful textbook continues to have the same focus as previous editions-the integrative and regulatory roles of the endocrine systems, with up-to-date coverage of important advances in cellular and molecular mechanisms. The integrative focus of this book reflects the over 40 years of experience of the editor with teaching physiology and endocrinology to medical students. It is precisely the integrative focus that makes this textbook so valuable. The first chapters provide an overview of the principles of hormone structure and function and the roles of the primary endocrine glands. The remaining chapters deal with how hormones serve to regulate complex physiological functions, such as fuel metabolism, regulation of salt and water balance, calcium balance, growth and reproduction. These chapters provide an integrative framework for understanding how these functions respond to challenges from the internal or external environment. Immediately noticeable in the fourth edition is the rich look of the book with its new color figures (300 total) that make many of the illustrations easier to understand. This book continues to be very readable, concise and provides sufficient basic knowledge of how a particular system works without getting bogged down in the unmanageable details of intracellular signaling cascades or regulation of gene transcription. It provides the framework on which a student can add more complex detail of a specific cell or tissue or of a hormone-related disease. An important change in this book is the increase in coverage of the regulation of fuel metabolism, which is covered in 3 chapters: Hormones of the GI Tract (completely new chapter), The Pancreatic Islets, and Hormonal Regulation of Fuel Metabolism. This increase in coverage is appropriate and reflects the very strong emphasis on this area of research over the past 10 years. The increase in obesity and diabetes in our population has provided the stimulus for this research, which has led to a sizable growth in knowledge of this very complex area. Revisions of other chapters capture most new advances, without greatly expanding the length of the text. However, managing this feat requires leaving out some information. For example, there is no mention of the discovery of kisspeptin, which is made in neurons in the hypothalamus. Kisspeptin is now considered to be the primary regulator of GnRH neurons and reproductive function. Also, it is likely that a future edition will consider adipose tissue as an endocrine organ, reflecting the array of hormones synthesized by adipocytes and its importance in glucose homeostasis and the metabolic syndrome.Overall, the textbook is essential for medical students. It also can serve as a valuable resource for an upper level undergraduate course or a first year graduate course."-Endocrine, December 2008 About the Author Dr. Goodman has forty-five years of experience teaching endocrinology and physiology to medical students at Harvard Medical School and at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He has been engaged in NIH funded research in endocrinology for 40 years and published more than 150 articles in leading endocrinology journals. He is the founding Chairman of his department at UMass and has recently retired as Chairman after serving for 36 years..

Most helpful customer reviews 7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Great beginning text By Biostudent This is a nice text for an undergraduate-level or graduate-level basic Endocrinology class. The book itself is very succinct, compact, and lightweight. Its content is trim and well-organized, and it's filled with colorful, easy-to-understand figures. The writing is lucid, fairly casual, and easy to understand, which I appreciated for a subject that is so dense with information. The book is not extremely indepth. That's okay, though--it's self-described as a "basic" level book. It spares a student the more complicated explanations of many subjects for more advanced texts. For a student unfamiliar with endocrinology in general, this is a great book to introduce the major concepts of the field. I'll be keeping this book for reference in later years of school! 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Lightweight, compact, yet lacks straightforwardness. By Jay The text could have been more organized. There was a lot of "filler" words. At first, when you see the book, you feel that there's not much content in it because it is very light and skinny. When you start reading, however, you realize that the content is a little difficult to understand. Also, the text could have been more clearer. For instance, 3 pages talking about the CRH-ACTH-Cortisol pathway could have been simplified into: CRH stimulates ACTH. ACTH stimulates cortisol. Cortisol stimulates gluconeogenesis. etc. Now obviously, there are many actions that hormones do, and the book could have organized it more. Although there were tables and graphs in the book, it was lacking in simplicity and understandability. This book was used in my undergraduate endocrinology class and it did not help that much in my exams. I ended up having to wikipedia every hormone to get a direct, straightforward explanation on a specific hormone. For example, in wiki, all you do is type in say ACTH or cortisol and you get a direct explanation. In the book, I had to read a paragraph on the synthesis of ACTH, a paragraph on the stimulation of ACTH, a paragraph on the mechanism of ACTH, and a paragraph on the pathophysiology of hyper secretion of ACTH and other hormones, etc. It was great, but my reading time could have been cut in half had the book been a little more straightforward. It was like reading a lecture full of verbatim when all I needed to know was a simplified outline such as: "this causes this happen because of this, and if this malfunctions, then this happens..."In short, this book was okay. I learned from it but I must admit, I learned more from "googling" a specific hormone or "looking it up" on wikipedia. I hope you undergrads heed my warning when you read this review. Endocrinology is one my favorite subjects but this book simply needs to be rewritten to remove all the "fat" despite being such a thin book.Good luck to all. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Great Book By Charlee The best book for learning Endocrinology. Very basic and understandable. Reading it would help you understand the tougher things and mechanisms involved. Even the mechanisms are a bit simplified to teach and understand. See all 6 customer reviews...