Myelodysplastic Syndromes was first published in 2006, and continues to stand out as the definitive text on the genetics, pathophysiology, and clinical management of this wide range of syndromes. It remains a major reference on all aspects of the clinical classification underlying pathogenetic mechanisms and treatment of the myelodysplastic syndromes. Authored by international experts, the book provides an assessment of the subject's status and a variety of advances in the field. The chapters cover all aspects of the myelodysplastic syndromes, from an in-depth analysis of the multifactorial nature of this disease, including a careful assessment of stromal, immunological and stem cell abnormalities, to a review of recent molecular and cytogenetic discoveries and insights. This book will be a valuable resource to clinicians and researchers who wish to learn more about myelodysplastic syndromes.

The use of cells for the treatment of a variety of diseases is no longer a dream. Today, blood transfusion, bone marrow transplantation, the use of ex vivo cultured skin in wound healing, and peripheral stern cell transplantation, including the ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic stern cells after high-dose chemo/radiation therapy, are routine. This high standard of knowledge and skills in cell transplantation might also re sult in tackling hitherto untreatable diseases. Organ transplantation is presently the only life-saving treatment for a variety of conditions. Important findings in cell and molecular biol ogy, the identification of hematopoietic, mesenchymal and neuronal stern cells, together with breakthroughs in the methodology for isolat ing, purifying, expanding, and storing human cells could make cellular therapy an alternative to organ transplantation in certain diseases within the next decade. Placental blood may be the source of choice in isolating naive progenitor cells for allogeneic transplantation. Immunotherapy is the most hopeful strategy to date for the treat ment of tumors resistant to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or hor mone therapy. It includes the use of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, ex vivo activated memory T lymphocytes, and cell-based vaccines."

Endocrine disruption is an expanding field due to the numerous chemicals involved and, as evidenced more recently, the variety of homeostatic systems that they can alter throughout life. Also, this field is at the edge of several disciplines with implications of both laboratory scientists and clinicians. This symposium aims at updating mechanisms and consequences of endocrine disruption in three perspectives: neural, metabolic and reproductive. The gathering of experts from all over the world should help the participants to identify health disorders that are possibly or likely related to exposure to endocrine disrupters. The research needs will be discussed as well as recommendations prioritizing target groups and following the precautionary principle.

Biological order in all living creatures is a fascinating phenomenon. Biochemical reactions and biophysical processes including enormous amount of various entities and structures are coordinated in space and time resulting in highly organized dynamic system with self control. The book consists of analysis of biophysical mechanism of long range interactions based on polar vibrations in microtubules and in actin filaments in cytoskeleton, spectral energy transfer in non-linear systems, excitation of a state far from the thermodynamic equilibrium in systems with energy supply, transition from incoherent to coherent vibration states, generation of endogenous electromagnetic field, information transfer between vibration systems, and interaction energy of vibration systems. The Frohlich vibration system is used."

Leading clinicians review in depth the clinical and molecular aspects of the hormone resistance syndromes caused by receptor mutations. These mutations are involved in a large number of disorders, including dwarfism, Laron syndrome, pseudohypoparathyroidism, insulin resistance, resistance to thyroid hormone, glucocorticoid resistance, hereditary resistance to vitamin D, and estrogen resistance. Throughout, the book's distinguished contributors not only summarize the clinical features of these and related disorders, but also illuminate their molecular bases. Hormone Resistance Syndromes provides an authoritative summary and standard reference for all those clinicians and researchers actively studying these mutations today and affords a unique opportunity to understand hormone action in normal physiology.

Jacques Barzun, the noted Columbia University historian of ideas and culture, once described the feeling that some people experience when they come upon a new reference book. He wrote: "Hand over to one of us a new Dictionary, "Companion," or Guide, and our eyes first light up and then turn dreamy: we have seized the volume and are off, arm in arm with the guide i or companion. ..." The book now in your hands made my eyes light up. Thyroid Disorders with Cutaneous Manifestations is that kind of book. Heymann, who has been fascinated by this sometimes controversial subject for decades, has brought not only his own expertise, but that of many experts from the fields of the skin and the thyroid gland. Steven Jay Gould wrote about overlapping and nonoverlapping magisteria-this book demonstrates just how much important overlap there is. But it also covers the basics in such a way that dermatologists can find what they need to know about the thyroid and thyroidologists can find what they need to know about the skin. Thyroid Disorders with Cutaneous Manifestations falls neatly into the tra- tion of medical monographs that become standards. They fulfill the roles of gathering, digesting, and synthesizing current knowledge, and they do so in a way that review articles cannot approach and that the scientific literature is not designed to accomplish.

In this era of proliferation of synthetic growth hormone in the marketplace, there is a parallel and accentuated interest in growth hormone in the scientific arena. Because many more people can be treated with available growth hormone, clinicians must be prepared to answer hard questions regarding appropriate therapeutic usage and their decisions should be based on substantiated research in growth hormone. In June 1987, an international group of basic and clinical inves tigators gathered in Tampa, Florida, to address these issues and to further explore the very nature of growth hormone. The presentations contained within this book bring together their most current and vital research related to growth hormone. Section I deals with an examination of the molecular and biochemical events which define the growth hormone process. In Section II the neuroregulation of growth hormone secretion is highlighted from contrasting perspectives. The third section emphasizes and defines methods of diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency states. Section IV reviews the physiology, biochemistry and molecular actions of growth hormone and somatomedin. Section V represents an assessment of growth hormone treatment for various disorders, and the sixth section expands current uses of growth hormone therapy as it evolves into the next decade. The symposium upon which this book is based proved to be a dynamic blending of scholarly interaction between basic and clinical scientists. I am indebted to the participants whose worthy contributions are reflected in these pages."

The German land of Hesse (Bundesland Hessen) is well known for its excellent wines (Rheinhessen), for its financial centre and for its airport (FrankfurtlMain). It is, unjustifiably, far less well known for its importance to thennoregulation. Within the small area of Bad Nauheim, Giessen and Marburg (in alphabetical order) a greater concentration of students of thenno regulation has been trained or worked or is working than probably in any other single area of Europe, if not the world. It is thus most appropriate to hold the Ninth International Symposium on the Pharmacology of Thennoregulation in Giessen, from August 7 to 12, 1994. The community of students of thennoregulation was extremely grateful that Professor Kurt Bruck and the lustus-Liebig-University of Giessen had extended this invitation. The same community was even more saddened that Kurt Bruck died on April 27, 1992 and thus could not participate in this event that had been planned to honour his achievements. As a small token of friendship and affection, the many friends of Kurt Bruck from all over the world who will participate in this event dedicate this symposium to the memory of Kurt Bruck. Another staunch friend, researcher of temperature regulation and supporter of this series of symposia died in October 1993: Professor Wilhelm Siegmund Feldberg. We feel fortunate to be able to start this volume with two brief infonnal and personal accounts of professors Bruck and Feldberg."

Physical activity exerts an important influence on the endocrine system, modulating synthesis and secretion of several hormones. Almost every organ and system in the body is affected by physical activity and exercise, mainly through the endocrine and neuroendocrine system. Mode, intensity, and duration of the exercise bout, age, gender and fitness level of the individual as well as environmental and psychological factors may affect the endocrine response to physical activity.

On the other hand, several hormones are able to influence physical performance and body composition. Thus, a bi-univocal interrelationship between exercise and hormones exists.

In this book new developments on metabolic and endocrine response to exercise are revised and introduce the "hot topic" of hormonal doping in sports. In the past decades, hormone abuse has become a widespread habit among professional and most of all and more frequently recreational athletes. A substantial part of this volume is devoted to the effects of exogenous hormones on performance. Anabolic steroids, growth hormone and erythropoietin properties, use and misuse in sports are widely described. Specific methods to detect hormone abuse are presented and discussed.

The contributors to this volume are well-known experts and dedicated researchers in the fields of sports medicine and endocrinology, endocrine physiology, pharmacology, and doping detection.

The purpose of this volume is to provide all professionals involved in sports medicine and endocrinology a state-of-the-art overview of the complex interactions between physical activity and the endocrine system and to focus on hormone abuse in sports at competitive and recreational level highlighting its negative consequences for long-term health."

Evidence accumulated over the past decade show that gonadal steroid hormones participate in an important way in the physiological and pa thophysiological regulation of the cardiovascular system. The hor monal profile appears to put males at a disadvantage biologically in terms of cardiovascular diseases. The incidence of hypertension is higher in men than in pre-monopausal women indicating an influence of gender on the hypertensive disease process. Males and females have equivalent cholesterol levels until puberty but males suffer an ex ponential increase in heart disease in their forties, while the female rise does not start until a decade later, after menopause. Animal and human studies provided ample evidence, that estrogens lower the levels of low density lipoproteins and keep high density lipoproteins elevated. These changes may be advantageous in the prevention of heart diesease. Co ronary artery atherosclerosis has been shown to be more pronounced in ovarectomized female monkeys as in intact females. Androgen, con versely, lowers the high density lipoproteins and elevates low density lipoproteins. Regarding blood pressure, it is well established that hypertension is more severe or develops more rapidly in male than fe male rats in several genetic forms of hypertension, and that gonadal steroid hormones are probably playing an important role in explaining this observation. Risk factors of human hypertension and coronary heart dies ease include menopause and ovarectomy."

Amenorrhea: A Case-Based Clinical Guide is a comprehensive review of the current knowledge regarding normal female reproductive physiology. Replete with interesting case vignettes and providing diagnostic algorithms and therapeutic strategies for amenorrhea, Amenorrhea: A Case-Based Clinical Guide is divided into three sections. The first section is composed of two chapters that provide a thorough review of basic science and clinical knowledge about the organ systems responsible for normal physiology of the menstrual cycle. The second section includes discussion about menstrual cycle disruption as it relates to hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction, surgical and natural menopause, genetic defects, premature ovarian failure/insufficiency and the effects of caloric excess and restriction. The third section offers an update on the physiological effects of prolonged amenorrhea induced surgically or by hypothalamic dysfunction and also includes an original chapter that focuses solely on the impact of race and ethnicity on the prevalence and diagnosis of amenorrhea. Amenorrhea: A Case-Based Clinical Guide brings together chapters from renowned experts who offer state-of-the-art, clinically useful information in a case-based, reader-friendly fashion. This title will be a welcome addition to the bookshelves of all clinicians who practice in women's health settings.

The discovery of mammalian nitric oxide (NO-) synthesis from I-ar- ginine has led to profound increases in our understanding of basic physiological and pathophysiological processes. This understanding has been achieved by major advances in several areas. Three major ni- tric oxide synthase (NOS) isoforms have been identified at the protein and gene level and their specific tissue localization has been linked to processes subject to regulation by NO-. The molecular basis for the di- verse effects of NO- on cell function has been shown to derive from its chemical reactivity with oxygen-containing species and both heme and non-heme iron-dependent enzymes. The potential regulation of heme- dependent enzymes such as cytochromes P450, guanylate cyclase, cy- clooxygenase, and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase continues to emerge as a key area in NO- research. In addition, it has become clear that the expression of NOS isoforms and NO- release from cells is subject to regulation by sexual steroids and that, in tum, NO- has the potential to regulate steroid biosynthesis via inhibition of cytochromes P450 involved in steroidogenesis. These recent observations on interactions between the NO-/NOS and cytochrome P450/sexual steroid pathways have important implica- tions for understanding fundamental mechanisms involved in endocri- nological processes. They are also likely to lead to novel insights and novel therapeutic approaches for the management of pathophysiologi- cal conditions associated with alterations in sexual steroid hormones.

Sex-Steroid Interactions with Growth Hormone presents the proceedings of an international symposium held from October 22-25 in Naples, Florida. The proceedings provide new insights and concepts gained by molecular, cellular and neuroendocrine research into mechanistic interactions of the reproductive and somatotrophic axes. Chapters include discussions of the impact of sex steroids on growth hormone secretion in both children and adults; sex steroids, growth hormone releasing factor, and somatostatin; how sex steroids modulate growth hormone action on target issues; and differential effects of growth hormone secretagogues in men and women. This volume is designed for physicians, scientists and other health professionals interested or trained in clinical and basic endocrinology, growth or reproduction.

Endocrine disruption represents one of the most controversial environmental issues of our time. Mounting evidence stemming from more than 10 years of experimental, epidemiological and clinical studies has transformed the once generally discounted subject of endocrine disruptors into an issue of tremendous concern not only within the scientific community but among society as a whole. Following initial evidence from basic research, endocrine disruption in humans has now emerged as a major medical challenge. In this respect, puberty, a crucial developmental stage, has been definitively identified as a key window of vulnerability with regard to endocrine disruptors. Written by leading authorities in the field, Endocrine Disruptors and Puberty offers an engaging and comprehensive overview of this fascinating and rapidly growing problem. An indispensable resource for all clinicians and scientists interested in this challenging endocrinologic topic, Endocrine Disruptors and Puberty is a timely contribution that will help navigate a path toward understanding the problem and developing solutions.

The purpose of these volumes is to provide a reference work for the methods of purifying many of the receptors we know about. This becomes increasingly important as full-length recep- tors are overexpressed in bacteria or in insect cell systems. A major problem for abundantly expressed proteins will be their purification. In addition to purification protocols, many other de- tails can be found concerning an individual receptor that may not be available in standard texts or monographs. No book of this type is available as a compendium of purification procedures. Receptor Purification provides protocols for the purification of a wide variety of receptors. These include receptors that bind: neurotransmitters, polypeptide hormones, steroid hormones, and ligands for related members of the steroid supergene family and others including receptors involved in bacterial motion. The text of this information is substantial so as to require its publica- tion in two volumes. Consequently, a division was made by grouping receptors depending upon the nature of their ligands. Thus, in volume 1 there are contributions on serotonin receptors, adrenergic receptors, the purification of GTP-binding proteins, opioid receptors, neurotensin receptor, luteinizing hormone re- ceptor, human chorionic gonadotropin receptor, follicle stimulat- ing hormone receptor, thyrotropin receptor, prolactin receptor, epidermal growth factor receptor, platelet derived growth factor receptor, colony stimulating factor receptor, insulinlike growth factor receptors, insulin receptor, fibronectin receptor, interferon receptor, and the cholecystokinin receptor.

In September 1998 experts from 19 countries came together for an interdisciplinary discussion of the function of animal peroxidases, a family of enzymes embracing myeloperoxidase, eosinophil peroxidase, thyroid peroxidase and lactoperoxidase. Their papers have been updated for publication, yielding a wide-ranging overview of the state of the art. The chapters cover a wide range of topics, including three-dimensional structure of representative family members, their biosynthesis and intracellular transport, mechanism of action as well as applications to clinical medicine. They are of clinical relevance in, for example, arteriosclerosis, multiple sclerosis, infections, tumorigenesis, rheumatic diseases and hypothyroidism. This book forms an excellent introduction for anyone interested in the peroxidase family of enzymes.

The volume Appetite Control provides a comprehensive description of the mechanisms controlling food intake, and thereby energy balance, in the mammalian organism. During the last decade, research in this area has produced a remarkable wealth of information and has characterized the function of numerous peptides, transmitters, and receptors in appetite control. Dysfunction of these circuits leads to obesity, a growing health concern. However, the plethora of mechanistic information is in marked contrasts to an almost complete lack of anti-obesity drugs that meet the safety standards required for the chronic therapy of morbid obesity. Consequently, ongoing research aims to identify additional targets and agents for a pharmacological intervention. Thus, the mechanisms of appetite control as well as all agents interfering with its control are of considerable practical interest.

The authors of the volume are distinguished scientists who are leading experts in the field, and who have contributed important, original data to our understanding of the mechanisms of appetite control. They have quite different scientific backgrounds and, together, they represent all relevant disciplines. Thereby, the topics are presented from different points of view, not exclusively from that of pharmacology and neuroendocrinology. Thus, the volume addresses all scientists who are interested in the field of obesity research and the pathophysiology of appetite control."

Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors have played a key role in the advancement of knowledge of pharmacology and neurotransmission since the inception of studies in these fields, and the effects of naturally occurring drugs acting on muscarinic receptors were known and exploited for both therapeutic and non-therapeutic purposes for hundreds of years before the existence of the receptors themselves was recognized. This volume presents a broad yet detailed review of current knowledge of muscarinic receptors that will be valuable both to long-time muscarinic investigators and to those new to the field. It describes the detailed insights that have been obtained on the structure, function, and cell biology of muscarinic receptors. This volume also describes physiological analyses of muscarinic receptors and their roles in regulating the function of the brain and of a variety of peripheral tissues. This volume shows how the study of muscarinic receptors continues to provide new and surprising insights not just to the cholinergic system but to the broad areas of neurobiology, cell biology, pharmacology, and therapeutics.

Introduction Anthony J. Edis, Richard H. Egdahl, Tracy K. Mcintosh, Contents Lester F. Williams xi 1 Surgery of the Parathyroids General Introduction 1 SURGICAL ANATOMY Primary Hyperparathyroidism 7 PATHOLOGY 7 DIAGNOSIS 11 PREOPERATIVE LOCALIZATION STUDIES 22 TREATMENT 27 Secondary Hyperparathyroidism 35 SIGNS, SYMPTOMS, COMPLICATIONS 35 CLINICAL MANAGEMENT 36 Tertiary Hyperparathyroidism 37 Operative Technique 38 CERVICAL EXPLORATION WITH REMOVAL OF A PARATHYROID ADENOMA 46 SUBTOTAL PARATHYROIDECTOMY FOR HYPERPLASIA 59 PARATHYROIDECTOMY FOR CARCINOMA 60 MEDIASTINAL EXPLORATION FOR PARATHYROID TUMOR 61 References 66 2 Surgery of the Thyroid 71 General Introduction 71 SURGICAL ANATOMY 72 Nodular Goiter and Thyroid Carcinoma 79 PATHOLOGY 79 DIAGNOSIS 82 TREATMENT OF THYROID NODULES 94 TREATMENT OF THYROID CANCER RELATED TO PATHOLOGIC TYPE 97 Hyperthyroidism 110 Graves' Disease 111 PATHOLOGY 111 DIAGNOSIS 112 TREATMENT 115 Plummer's Disease 120 PATHOLOGY 120 DIAGNOSIS 120 TREATMENT 122 Complications of Thyroid Surgery 123 PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT 123 viii CONTENTS 127 Operative Techniques TOTAL THYROID LOBECTOMY 127 REMOVAL OF A SUBSTERNAL GOITER 134 SUBTOTAL THYROID LOBECTOMY 136 MODIFIED NECK DISSECTION FOR PAPILLARY THYROID CARCINOMA 141 References 144 3 Surgery of the Adrenals 151 151 General Introduction SURGICAL ANATOMY 152 Pheochromocytoma 155 PATHOLOGY 155 156 DIAGNOSIS PREOPERATIVE 162 TREATMENT 166 172 Primary Aldosteronism PATHOLOGY 172 DIAGNOSIS 174 178 PREOPERATIVE LOCALIZATION STUDIES TREATMENT 180 Cushing's Syndrome 181 CLASSIFICATION 182 DIAGNOSIS 187 PREOPERATIVE LOCALIZATION STUDIES 192 TREATMENT 194 Adrenal Gland and Metastatic Breast Carcinoma 198 Adrenocortical Carcinoma 200 DIAGNOSIS 201 PREOPERATIVE LOCALIZATION STUDIES AND STAGING 201 TREATMENT 202 PROGNOSIS 203 Nonfunctioning Adrenal Tumors 203

The aim of this symposium was to provide basic and clinical investigators with the latest information on the biology of wound healing and tissue repair. Written and edited by eminent experts in the field, the papers cover the general concepts of wound healing; the role of nutrients; endogenous growth factors; clinical applications of growth hormone and IGF-1 therapy; and clinical applications of peptide growth factors.

Inhibin, activin, and follistatin were originally discovered as hormonal fac- tors a decade ago. Subsequent studies revealed that they are widely distrib- uted anatomically and have multiple biological functions in a wide range of cells and tissues. Since the last Symposium three years ago, there has been remarkable progress toward defining activin's roles in controlling hormone secretion, cell differentiation and proliferation, mesoderm induction in em- bryos, nerve cell survival, and promotion of bone growth. Furthermore, the characterization of activin receptors as serine and threonine kinases and the identification of intracellular mediators such as the Smads have provided key elements for the eventual understanding of signaling mechanisms for activin and the other members of the TGF-beta superfamily. The unknown in this integrative field, however, remains far greater than the known. For ex- ample, we are just beginning to exploit the recently improved activin, inhibin, and follistatin two-site assays for the evaluation of the physiological and pathophysiological functions of these proteins. Also, we have only a rudi- mentary understanding of the mechanisms by which inhibin blocks activin, and many steps in the pathways linking the formation of ligand-receptor(s) complexes to transcriptional regulation are unclear. The aim of the Third Symposium was to bring together scientists from diverse fields to share technical and conceptual developments. The program was framed with the intention to include a wide range of timely research topics.

Physiological, pharmacological and molecular biological data generated over the past three decades have demonstrated the existence of two major families of extracellular receptors, the P1, a family of four G-protein coupled receptors and the P2, a family of at least 12 receptors responsive to purine (ATP, ADP) and pyrimidine (UTP) nucleotides through which adenosine and ATP can function as extracellular messengers. The present two-part volume represents an integrated compendium of invited chapters by leading researchers in the area focusing on advances in the understanding of purinergic and pyrimidinergic signaling systems, their role(s) in tissue function and pathophysiology and advances in developing potential new medications based on the modulation of P1 and P2 receptor signaling processes. The volumes will thus provide the reader with a topical, comprehensive and integrated overview of this important area.

"Theoretically, one should obtain essentially the same clinical picture from failure of an end-organ to respond to a hormone as from a decreased production or absence of said hormone. " With these words, Fuller Albright began his now classic paper describing a novel disease, pseudo hypoparathyroidism (PHP), and a novel concept, hormone resis- tance as a cause of disease. Soon, other hormone resistance disorders such as nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI) were recognized, and the concept was extended to resistance to other substances such as calcium ions in familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia (FHH). Later, diseases characterized by excess rather than deficient hormone action such as McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS) and familial male precocious puberty (FMPP) were recognized to be caused by autonomous endocrine hyperfunction. Although many i!!vestigators provided careful and detailed descriptions of the clinical features of these and other related endocrine disorders, an understanding of pathogenesis proved elusive for many years. In just the past few years, we have gone from clinical description to a molecular understanding of these interesting disorders. This remarkable progress reflects a synthe- sis of three distinct, but now overlapping, areas of biomedical research: the aforemen- tioned recognition and careful clinical description of specific diseases, the elucidation of the basic mechanisms of signal transduction, and the application of the powerful tools of molecular biology and genetics. Fundamental studies on the mechanisms of hormone action by Rodbell and colleagues at NIH culminated in the discovery of a major signal transduction pathway involving heterotrimeric G proteins.

Most of the following chapters were presented as plenary lectures or symposium talks at the 1986 XXXth Congress of the International Union of Physiological Sciences in Vancouver, B.C. A distinguished international group of endocrinologists and physiologists have contributed up-to-date reviews of their particular fields. The early chapters are largely concerned with the brain and neuroendocrine mechanisms controlling the secretion of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) and its action on the anterior pitui- tary gland. Later chapters focus on the gonads themselves and the systemic and intrinsic hormones influencing the functional cytology of ovarian and testicular cells. Such comprehensive subjects as sex differentiation, puberty, placentation and parturition are also discussed authoritatively. According to Pfaff and Cohen and Arai et al., gonadal steroids, especially estrogen, exert multiple effects on certain hypothalamic and preoptic neurons, including growth, protein synthesis and electrical changes, which promote plasticity and facilitate synaptogenesis. The electrophysio- logy of the hypothalamic GnRH pulse generator in the rhesus monkey is reviewed more specifically by Knobil. In ovariectomized ewes, Clarke finds both positive and negative effects of estrogen on hypothalamic release of GnRH as well as on pituitary responsiveness to the peptide. Flerk6 et al.

This book discusses contemporary features of ject, creating, therefore, a lacuna the could be diagnosis of endocrine diseases using the filled by this project. radiologic technique of percutaneous venous This book is intended to be a practical guide blood sampling for hormone assay. A compre- for vascular and interventional radiologists, in- hensive survey of the field is provided by the ternists, surgeons, endocrinologists, and other contributing authors, who have considerable physicians who care for patients with endocrine expertise in the subject. Some have published diseases. The intention is to provide a practical several articles in the literature; others have text covering anatomical data, clinical prob- extensive clinical experience. lems related to the diagnosis of the endocrine The approach to many of the endocrine dis- diseases, patient preparation for the sampling, eases has been markedly improved ~uring the blood sampling techniques, sample manipula- last two decades because of selective venous tion and storage, laboratory data, and clinical blood sampling, not only in the diagnosis of the significance of the hormone sampling and condition but especially in the precise localiza- assay. tion of the hormone-producing lesion and its clinical significance. Scattered informationbn venous blood sam- pling is available in the literature, but there is Renan Uftacker no comprehensive text dealing with the sub- Reingard Sorensen Contents Preface v Contributors xi 1 Selective Venous Sampling for the Differential Diagnosis of Female Hyperandrogenemia 1 Lathar Moltz and Reingard Sorensen Introduction ...1 Diagnostic Procedures ...2 Indications ...4 Anatomy and Anatomical Variations...