endocrinologist
Meaning of endocrinologist: Hormones travel everywhere, so this specialty is defined by the messenger rather than by a single organ or region of the body.
Definition of endocrinologist
An endocrinologist is a doctor who specializes in the endocrine system, the glands that release hormones into the blood to control metabolism, growth, reproduction, salt and water balance and the response to stress. The work covers diabetes, thyroid disease and disorders of the pituitary, adrenal, parathyroid and reproductive glands.
Which glands and which conditions?
| Gland | Conditions seen |
|---|---|
| Pancreatic islets | Type 1 and type 2 diabetes, low blood sugar from insulin-producing tumors |
| Thyroid | Overactive and underactive thyroid, goiter, nodules, thyroid cancer follow-up |
| Pituitary | Hormone-secreting tumors, underactive pituitary, growth and prolactin disorders |
| Adrenal | Cushing syndrome, adrenal insufficiency, tumors that raise blood pressure |
| Parathyroid | High or low calcium, and the bone disease that follows |
| Ovaries and testes | Polycystic ovary syndrome, low testosterone, infertility, puberty disorders |
Osteoporosis, obesity and lipid disorders also fall to endocrinology in many places, because the hormonal control of bone and of fuel storage runs through the same endocrine system.
How does someone become one?
Training routes differ by country, and there is no universal pathway. In the United States the sequence is medical school, then a residency in internal medicine or pediatrics, then a fellowship in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, followed by board certification. In the United Kingdom endocrinology is trained alongside general internal medicine across several years of specialty posts. Elsewhere the specialty may sit within internal medicine without a separate certificate at all. Pediatric endocrinology is a distinct specialty in most systems, because growth, puberty and congenital hormone disorders differ from adult disease, and some endocrinologists narrow further into thyroid, reproductive or bone practice.
When is one involved?
Referral usually follows an abnormal result that does not resolve simply, or a picture that spans several systems at once. Persistently abnormal thyroid tests, high or low calcium, diabetes that stays out of range despite treatment, unexplained weight change, early or delayed puberty, and a hormone-producing tumor found on a scan are typical reasons. Because a single hormone acts on many tissues, an endocrinologist often works alongside a surgeon, an obstetrician, a cardiologist or an oncologist rather than managing a person alone. Tests here rarely stand alone either: a single hormone value means little without the stimulating hormone that controls it, which is why thyroid stimulating hormone is measured alongside thyroid hormone, and why growth hormone is assessed with stimulation and suppression tests rather than one blood sample.
Used in a sentence
The patient was referred to an endocrinologist for further evaluation of persistently abnormal thyroid function.
Good to know
An endocrinologist manages hormone-producing glands broadly, which distinguishes the specialty from a more narrowly focused practice such as one limited to thyroid or reproductive conditions alone.
Word origin
Where “endocrinologist” comes from
Formed from endo-, from Greek endon, meaning within, and krinein, meaning to separate or secrete, combined with -logist, one who studies a field.