本书的重点是激素，以及激素是如何在人类和动物体内非常不同的区域产生的。但激素不仅在脊椎动物中可以找到，而且在昆虫、贝类、蜘蛛、软体动物中也可以找到，甚至在元生物多样化的起源地也可以找到，并表现出相同的合成途径。本书论述了激素的不同类别：蛋白质/肽类激素、类固醇和幼年激素以及儿茶酚胺、甲状腺激素和褪黑激素等激素。本书还讨论了激素受体的类型，其中大部分是七叶G蛋白偶联受体或核受体。本书特别关注激素产生的器官，具体介绍了激素的产生和释放，同时用专门的章节详细介绍了从非常简单到高度复杂的激素调节方案。还展示了激素产生的非凡动力学，然后用内分泌系统的进化、内分泌疾病的遗传学和兴奋剂等章节来完善本书。

This book focuses on hormones, and on how they are produced in very diverse regions of the body in humans and animals. But hormones can be found not only in vertebrates, but also in insects, shellfish, spiders, mollusks, even at the origin of metazoan diversification and exhibit the same pathways of synthesis. The book addresses the different classes of hormones: protein/peptides hormones, steroids and juvenile hormones and hormones like catecholamines, thyroid hormones and melatonin. It also discusses the types of hormone receptors, the majority of which are heptahelical G-protein coupled receptors or nuclear receptors. Particular attention is paid to the organs where hormones are created, with specifics on hormonal production and release, while a dedicated chapter details hormonal regulation from very simple to highly complex schemes. The remarkable kinetics of hormones production are also shown, before the book is rounded out by chapters on evolution in the endocrine system, the genetics of endocrine diseases and doping.