Best Endocrinologist in Richmond

What is endocrinology?

Endocrinology is the study of the endocrine glands or internal secretion glands. These include B. the thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal glands, pituitary gland, and pancreas. Together with the glands that produce the sex hormones in men and women and a large number of other hormone-producing cells, e.g. B. in the gastrointestinal tract and in fat tissue, they are responsible for the hormonal regulation of all organ functions in our body. Hormones are vital messenger substances in our organism, which contribute significantly to our well-being.

Not only rare hormone diseases, but also so-called common diseases fall into the field of the endocrinologist: osteoporosis, diabetes, goiter or enlarged thyroid, hormonal changes in old age. Hormonal imbalances play a role in a variety of diseases, such B. rheumatism, in pediatrics (growth disorders) and reproductive medicine (infertility), high blood pressure, bone metabolism, a role. For this reason, the field of endocrinology is a very broad field and the endocrinologist is a specialist in many fields of medicine.

What is an endocrinologist?

An endocrinologist is a specialist in internal medicine. He mainly deals with hormones and is therefore specialized in the prevention, diagnosis, therapy and research of hormonal diseases and functional disorders. Since endocrine hormones affect almost the entire body, the field of the endocrinologist is not so easy to define. Rather, he intervenes in the individual departments and tries to recognize interactions and overall connections. In addition to hormones, the treatment of metabolic diseases and nutritional medicine also fall into the field of the endocrinologist.

What does the endocrinologist do?

Diagnosis & Treatment At the beginning of the diagnosis, there is a detailed anamnesis , i.e. the conversation between doctor and patient in which important information is requested. Questions such as:

What are the complaints? Since when and in what form do they appear? Are there any other complaints? Are medications being taken and if so, which ones? The laboratory examination of blood and urine has a special place in endocrinology , it is one of the first examination methods. They can be used to determine the level of hormones in the body. The information obtained in this way can then be used to identify irregularities. Further examination methods are: Stimulation of a gland : This is used when an underactive gland is suspected. An example would be the ACTH short test for suspected renal cortical insufficiency, which can be carried out for cortisol, for example. Inhibition of a gland : An inhibition, i.e. a delay or inhibition of the course of a chemical reaction by added substances (so-called ‘inhibitors’), is carried out if an overactive gland is suspected. An example would be a dexamethasone inhibition test, which is carried out if Cushing’s syndrome is suspected. Imaging processes : These include ultrasound, scintigraphy, CT or punctures. A distinction is made between morphological and functional representations. Morphological would be, for example, a thyroid sonography (a radiological procedure that uses ultrasound waves to make the morphology of internal organs and structures visible) to show a reduction in the size of the organ. On the other hand, a thyroid scintigraphy (a nuclear medical examination method) would be functional if thyroid autonomy is suspected (i.e. parts of the thyroid gland become independent, which limits its regular functions).