This volume, as its title implies, is intended to provide an overview of basic endocrinology at a level directed to the medical student and junior resident. The author has attempted to simplify complex material as much as possible and avoid controversial issues.
The introductory chapter presents the most basic of concepts, such as the mechanism of feedback regulation, the understanding of which is fundamental to endocrinology. The remainder of the book is divided into the traditional gland-by-gland descriptions. The maximum allotment of space is to the pituitary gland, thyroid gland, and diabetes mellitus. Smaller chapters are devoted to the adrenals, parathyroid, testes, and ovaries. It is a matter of concern that metabolic bone disease has been conspicuously omitted (thus, for example, no discussion of osteoporosis), and there is likewise no chapter on lipid disorders.
Each topic is subdivided into a discussion of anatomy, physiology, and