endocrinology

noun

en·​do·​cri·​nol·​o·​gy ˌen-də-kri-ˈnä-lə-jē 

-ˌkrī-

: a branch of medicine concerned with the structure, function, and disorders of the endocrine glands

endocrinologist

ˌen-də-kri-ˈnä-lə-jist 

-ˌkrī-

noun

Examples of endocrinology in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Anywhere from 40-70% of U.S. counties lack a single specialist in fields like endocrinology, cardiology and nephrology. —Robert Pearl, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025

Zoom in: Miller taught her more about her menstrual cycle, advocating for herself and finding the right care, which ultimately ended up being through the University of Iowa endocrinology clinic in West Des Moines. —Linh Ta, Axios, 19 Feb. 2025

Healthcare providers in primary care, internal medicine, endocrinology (hormone specialists), obstetrics or gynecology (women's health), or pediatrics (children's health) may order TSH levels. —Brandi Jones, Msn-Ed, Rn-Bc, Health, 6 Dec. 2024

This ranking spotlights the leading American hospitals in specialized medical fields including cardiology, endocrinology, neurology, oncology, orthopedics and pulmonology. —Matt Robison, Newsweek, 25 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

probably borrowed from Italian endocrinologia, from endocrine endocrine entry 1 + -o- -o- + -logia -logy

Note: According to some sources coined by the Italian physician Nicola Pende (1880-1970) in 1909 (e.g., in Garabed Eknoyan, "Emergence of the concept of endocrine function and endocrinology," Advances in Chronic Kidney Disease, vol. 11, no. 4 [October, 2004], p. 375), though without bibliographic citation. Pende used the word in the title of his treatise Endocrinologia: patologia e clinica degli organi a secrezione interna (Milan and Bologna, 1916).

First Known Use

circa 1913, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for endocrinology

• bacteriology
• biotechnology
• dialectology
• ecclesiology
• epistemology
• geochronology
• geomorphology
• histopathology
• hydrogeology
• kinesiology
• meteorology
• microbiology

Medical Definition

endocrinology

noun

en·​do·​cri·​nol·​o·​gy ˌen-də-kri-ˈnäl-ə-jē, -ˌkrī- 

plural endocrinologies

: a science dealing with the endocrine glands

endocrinologist

-jəst 

noun