Hormones

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

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For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Men
• Women
• Older Adults
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Hormones are your body's chemical messengers. They travel in your bloodstream to tissues or organs. They work slowly, over time, and affect many different processes, including

• Growth and development
• Metabolism - how your body gets energy from the foods you eat
• Sexual function
• Reproduction
• Mood

Endocrine glands, which are special groups of cells, make hormones. The major endocrine glands are the pituitary, pineal, thymus, thyroid, adrenal glands, and pancreas. In addition, men produce hormones in their testes and women produce them in their ovaries.

Hormones are powerful. It takes only a tiny amount to cause big changes in cells or even your whole body. That is why too much or too little of a certain hormone can be serious. Laboratory tests can measure the hormone levels in your blood, urine, or saliva. Your health care provider may perform these tests if you have symptoms of a hormone disorder. Home pregnancy tests are similar - they test for pregnancy hormones in your urine.

Start Here

• Endocrine Glands & Their Hormones (National Cancer Institute)
• Endocrine System (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Introduction to the Endocrine System (Hormone Health Network)

Diagnosis and Tests

• ACTH (Adrenocorticotropic Hormone) Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• ADH (Antidiuretic Hormone) Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• Aldosterone and Renin Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• Anti-Müllerian Hormone Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Catecholamines, Plasma and Urine Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• Cortisol Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• DHEAS Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• Estrogen Levels Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• FSH (Follicle-Stimulating Hormone) Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• Gastrin: The Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• Growth Hormone (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• IGF-1 (Insulin-Like Growth Factor -1) Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• LH (Luteinizing Hormone) Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• Progesterone Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Prolactin Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• PTH Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• SHBG Blood Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Testosterone Levels Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Thyroid Tests: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) (Hormone Health Network)
• Endocrine Disruptors (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) - PDF
• Obesity (Hormone Health Network) Also in Spanish
• You and Your Endocrinologist (Hormone Health Network)

Specifics

• Anabolic Steroids: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hormones (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Neuroendocrine Networks and Functionality.
• Article: Preventive Effect of Somatostatin on Pancreatitis and Hyperamylasemia after Therapeutic ERCP.
• Article: Current and emerging biomarkers of frailty in the elderly.
• Hormones -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Find an Endocrinologist (Hormone Health Network)
• Hormone Health Network
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Children

• What Is a Pediatric Endocrinologist? (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• Your Endocrine System (For Kids) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Endocrine System (For Teens) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Men

• Low Testosterone and Men's Health (Hormone Health Network) Also in Spanish
• Sexual Health: Testosterone Therapy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Women

• Headaches and Hormones: What's the Connection? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Hormones, Women and Breast Cancer (Hormone Health Network)
• Menopause: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Pregnancy Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Therapeutic Use of Androgens in Women (Endocrine Society, Hormone Health Network) - PDF
• Why Is Oral Health Important for Women? (Academy of General Dentistry)

Older Adults

• Human Growth Hormone (HGH): Does It Slow Aging? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Could you have low testosterone? (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Growth hormone test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Luteinizing hormone (LH) blood test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Prolactin blood test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Serum progesterone (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Testosterone (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish