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

If fog, fatigue or libido changes linger weeks after a hit to the head, bring it up at your next appointment and ask whether an endocrinology referral belongs in the plan. — Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026

Warren Lockette, professor of medicine and physiology and division chief for endocrinology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, told Campus Insights Media that an impact disrupts that signaling pathway. — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2026

Neira is a physician who trained in endocrinology and metabolic diseases. — Helen Branswell, STAT, 25 Sep. 2026

One possible explanation for tea’s bone benefits is its antioxidants, said Fady Hannah-Shmouni, MD, professor in the division of endocrinology at the University of British Columbia. — Sarah Garone, HEALTH, 23 Sep. 2026

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