The Endocrine System and Hormones
How Hormones Coordinate the Body
About this volume
The Endocrine System and Hormones is Book A7 of The Performance & Human Physiology Encyclopedia — a 93-volume, university-level library on how the human body actually works, system by system. It is written for students, coaches, clinicians and serious self-learners: deep enough that a professional already trained in the field keeps learning, structured clearly enough that a motivated reader can follow every step.
How this book is written
- University level, without dilution. Exact scientific terminology, defined at first use — mechanisms, not just conclusions.
- Myths tested against the evidence. Where a popular claim does not survive the evidence, the book says so — and shows why.
- References at the end of every chapter. Sources cited in APA 7 style, plus a master bibliography.
For general information and education only; not medical advice. Consult a qualified health professional before acting on its content.
Read an excerpt
From Chapter 1 — The Endocrine System: Organization and the Logic of Hormonal Control
"The nervous system sends a telegram; the endocrine system sends a letter to everyone at once. One is fast, precise, and brief; the other is slow, broad, and lasting. Together — and they are deeply intertwined — these two systems coordinate every cell of the body, matching your inner chemistry to the moment: to a meal, a threat, a workout, the time of day, the seasons of a life. This book is about the second system: the quiet, chemical government of the body, written in hormones."
The endocrine system is one of the body's two great control systems (with the nervous system; Book A3), and it touches virtually everything in this encyclopedia: metabolism and energy (Book A2), growth and body composition (Book F4), stress (Book A3), blood pressure and fluid balance (Books A5, A8), reproduction (Book A9), bone health (this book, Chapter 6), blood sugar and diabetes (Chapter 7; Book I-series), and exercise adaptation (Chapter 11; the training collections). Understanding its organizing logic — what a hormone is, how the system is built as hierarchical axes governed by feedback loops, and why hormonal control is slow, broad, and sustained — is the key that makes every later chapter (and a great deal of health science) intelligible. It also inoculates you against the enormous amount of hormone misinformation ("balance your hormones," "boost your testosterone," "hormonal detox") by giving you the real framework. This first chapter builds that framework.
What is inside
The 13 chapters of this volume.
- 01
The Endocrine System: Organization and the Logic of Hormonal Control
- 02
Hormones and Their Mechanisms of Action
- 03
The Hypothalamic–Pituitary Axis: The Command Center
- 04
The Thyroid Gland and Metabolic Regulation
- 05
The Adrenal Glands: Stress, Cortisol, and Catecholamines
- 06
Calcium Homeostasis and Bone: Parathyroid Hormone and Vitamin D
- 07
The Endocrine Pancreas and Glucose Homeostasis
- 08
Growth and Development: Growth Hormone, IGF-1, and the Control of Body Size
- 09
Reproductive Endocrinology and the Sex Hormones
- 10
The Endocrinology of Energy Balance and Appetite
- 11
Hormonal Responses to Exercise and Adaptation
- 12
Endocrine Disorders and Disruption
- 13
Endocrine Health in Practice
Volume details
Topics covered
- thyroid adrenal and pituitary glands
- cortisol and the stress response
- insulin and glucose homeostasis
- growth hormone and IGF-1
- calcium parathyroid and vitamin D
- leptin ghrelin and appetite control
- endocrine disruptors and disorders
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