This multiauthored text is intended to encompass the biochemistry, molecular biology, physiology, pathophysiology, and clinical aspects of both the anterior and posterior pituitary. The text is divided into five sections: hypothalamic-pituitary function; hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction; pituitary tumors; pituitary disease in systemic disorders; and diagnostic procedures. This structure, as well as the fact that the clinical and basic chapters within a given area (e.g., ACTH secretion) are authored by different individuals, artificially separates the clinical from the basic science aspects of pituitary disease. This structure also leads to significant redundancy in the text. On balance, there is a lesser emphasis on clinical aspects of pituitary disease. The author wishes the text to serve the internist, obstetrician/gynecologist, and pediatrician at any level of training. The illustrations are generally good, but are too few in number. Color illustrations are lacking and photomicrographs are often poorly reproduced. The references are up-to-date and adequate in number. Although the topic of the clinically nonfunctioning pituitary tumor is discussed in the chapter on gonadotroph adenomas, this is not clear from the table of contents or the index. The most useful section of the book includes a discussion of the pituitary in pregnancy, the effect of eating disorders on pituitary function, and the effect of medications on pituitary function. Finally, the appendix of the evaluation of pituitary function is useful. Although there are several unique and useful features of this book, it will not entirely satisfy either clinician or basic scientist. Given the plethora of excellent textbooksof endocrinology that include most of what is covered here, there seems to be no obvious advantage to including this book in one's library.
Reviewer: David A. Ehrmann, MD (University of Chicago Medical Center)
Description: This multiauthored text is intended to encompass the biochemistry, molecular biology, physiology, pathophysiology, and clinical aspects of both the anterior and posterior pituitary.
Purpose: The text is divided into five sections: hypothalamic-pituitary function; hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction; pituitary tumors; pituitary disease in systemic disorders; and diagnostic procedures. This structure, as well as the fact that the clinical and basic chapters within a given area (e.g., ACTH secretion) are authored by different individuals, artificially separates the clinical from the basic science aspects of pituitary disease. This structure also leads to significant redundancy in the text. On balance, there is a lesser emphasis on clinical aspects of pituitary disease.
Audience: The author wishes the text to serve the internist, obstetrician/gynecologist, and pediatrician at any level of training.
Features: The illustrations are generally good, but are too few in number. Color illustrations are lacking and photomicrographs are often poorly reproduced. The references are up-to-date and adequate in number. Although the topic of the clinically nonfunctioning pituitary tumor is discussed in the chapter on gonadotroph adenomas, this is not clear from the table of contents or the index. The most useful section of the book includes a discussion of the pituitary in pregnancy, the effect of eating disorders on pituitary function, and the effect of medications on pituitary function. Finally, the appendix of the evaluation of pituitary function is useful.
Assessment: Although there are several unique and useful features of this book, it will not entirely satisfy either clinician or basic scientist. Given the plethora of excellent textbooks of endocrinology that include most of what is covered here, there seems to be no obvious advantage to including this book in one's library.
"…the book is not only a must for scientists and clinicians usually involved in the management of neuroendocrine dysfunctions but also a great opportunity for other specialists (internists, pediatricians, gynecologists, neurosurgeons) as well as for medical students to familiarize at best with the pituitary and its disorders. In all, this book is a traditional masterpiece dedicated to the ‘‘master gland’’ by one of the most important opinion leaders in the field."—Endocrine 2012
"[T]he book provides the reader a unique opportunity to understand in depth the mechanisms subserving both normal and disordered pituitary hormone secretion and action. Thus, the book is not only a must for scientists and clinicians usually involved in the management of neuroendocrine dysfunctions but also a great opportunity for other specialists (internists, pediatricians, gynecologists, neurosurgeons) as well as for medical students to familiarize at best with the pituitary and its disorders. In all, this book is a traditional masterpiece dedicated to the ‘‘master gland’’ by one of the most important opinion leaders in the field." —Endocrine
SECOND EDITION: "This excellent second edition is an update of the highly successful first edition of The Pituitary, published in 1995…All the chapters were written by leading experts in the field; a particularly welcome addition is a chapter dedicated to pituitary surgery, by Fahlbusch and colleagues. All the chapters have been successfully updated, and all are comprehensively referenced. The new edition describes recent developments in medical therapies for acromegaly (and thyrotropin-producing adenomas), especially the role of long-acting forms of somatostatin analogues and new growth hormone-receptor antagonists, as well as newer and more effective dopamine agonists for patients with prolactinoma. Inevitably, availability and licensing are subject to worldwide variations and differences in therapeutic practice. Not all the chapters recognize the differences between the United States and other parts of the world, especially Europe, in the availability of therapies that can be offered to patients with pituitary disease. The chapter on hypopituitarism does not fully address the various ways we can now deliver androgen replacement (and their pros and cons) and still mentions the use of extracts of animal thyroids in managing thyrotropin deficiency. There is an extensive discussion of growth hormone deficiency and its treatment with recombinant human growth hormone, but the sensitive and clinically critical issue of whether this expensive therapy should be prescribed for all adults with growth hormone deficiency or only for selected subgroups is avoided. These minor points should not detract from the view that this is a truly excellent book. It is clearly written, and nearly all of it is easy to read. I believe it is an essential and important textbook for practicing endocrinologists and endocrine scientists, trainees in endocrinology, and those working with endocrinologists in the care of patients with pituitary disease, including pediatricians, surgeons, radiologists, oncologists, and endocrine biochemists. It is a fitting tribute, indeed, to the gland that represents the "conductor of the endocrine orchestra." —The New England Journal of Medicine FIRST EDITION: "I strongly recommend this book. It fills a void in literature by providing in-depth coverage of the pituitary. The book will serve endocrinologists as a source of information on the various aspects of pituitary disease, blending clinical and basic science into a cohesive and comprehensive story." —New England Journal of Medicine, December 1995
"The depth of treatment is impressive throughout and all chapters are highly readable…this book is well worth its price." —Journal of Neurosurgery, January 1996
