100 Years of Hormones

Starling coined the term, derived from the Greek verb 'ormao' (to arouse or excite), during a Croonian Lecture at the Royal College of Physicians in London on the Chemical Control of the Functions of the Body. He defined hormones in terms of chemical messengers produced recurrently to answer the physiological needs of the organism and carried from the organ where they are produced to the organ which they affect by means of the bloodstream. He and his close colleague William Bayliss had a few years previously identified one of the first of these chemical messengers, secretin, during their experiments on digestion.

Since 1905, hormones, or rather the science that studies them, endocrinology, has increased our understanding of physiological processes in health and disease. From classical 'gland' based endocrinology of a few decades ago when only a handful of hormones were recognised, we now have insight into a highly complex array of literally hundreds of hormones that allow cells to communicate with their neighbours and also with cells far away in the body.

Clinical endocrinology working in parallel to laboratory based endocrine research has led to many important discoveries that have had significant impacts on many disease states including cancer, vascular disease (strokes and heart attacks), diabetes, osteoporosis, and obesity, to name but a few. Endocrine factors have not only been found to be responsible for producing or predisposing to some of these diseases, but manipulation of hormone systems has led to highly effective therapies, such as treatments for breast and prostate cancer.

New hormones continue to be discovered and characterised and although much is known about many hormones, the true complexity of interplay between these hormones in allowing effective cell communication is far from clear and will continue to tax endocrinologists well into the second century of hormones and endocrinology.

Did you know?

The word hormones is derived from the Greek verb 'ormao' - to arouse or excite.

News

Links to news, information and events celebrating 100 years of hormones can be found in the news and events section.

Newsletters and other publications

There was be a special publication of The Endocrinologist celebrating the centenary. More information will appear here when it is available.