Historical Landmarks in the Discovery of Adrenal Hormones

JOURNAL TITLE: World Journal of Endocrine Surgery

Author
1. Sagar Rai
2. Arjumand Faruqi
3. Pooja Ramakant
4. Pragati Jain
5. Kul R Singh
6. Kaushal K Singh
7. Dhruv Kapoor
ISSN
0975-5039
DOI
10.5005/jp-journals-10002-1424
Volume
14
Issue
1
Publishing Year
2022
Pages
6
Author Affiliations
    1. King George\'s Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
    1. King George\'s Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
    1. King George\'s Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
    1. Department of ENT, University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India
    1. King George\'s Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
    1. Department of Endocrine and Breast Surgery, King Georges’ Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
  • Article keywords
    Adrenal glands, Discovery, History

    Abstract

    The history of adrenal hormones provides a fascinating insight into how the discovery of adrenal hormones transformed our understanding of homeostasis. Owing to the small size of the gland and its anatomical location, there was quite a disparity in its existence for a large part of the time. However, at the dawn of the 19th century, the discovery of microscopes paved the way to identify the glands. In a nutshell, the discovery of various hormones from the adrenal cortex and medulla has been revolutionary both in the understanding of normal physiological processes and their therapeutic uses. A review of existing literature from PubMed eventually carved this article in which evolution in the discovery of these hormones and major clinical aspects related to adrenal hormones is discussed. As always, each discovery found birth in someone's question and was eventually fully realized by cooperative teamwork and leadership. The mechanism of hormones’ action was identified through animal and human experimentation, while scientists demonstrated the structure of hormones using the conventional biochemical analysis. Mostly, diseases were identified as syndromes earlier than hormones.

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