On Fundamental Endocrinology (comments to the article "Current Aspects of Hormonology" by V. I. Kulinskii and L. S. Kolesnichenko)

Yu. A. Pankov¹

¹Endocrinology Research Center, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, ul. Moskvorech'e 1, Moscow, 115478 Russia; fax: (095) 111-8507; E-mail: pankov7@com2com.ru

Submitted June 11, 1997.

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Analysis is presented discussing why there is an absence of fundamental endocrinology in Russian science. Features of the session of the Academy of Sciences and the Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences (1948) and of the session of the Academy of Sciences and Academy of Medical Sciences (1950) and their influence on the development of science are considered. The less infamous Pavlov's session (1950) has had a more destructive influence on the development of endocrinology than Michurin's session has on the development of genetics. The prospects for development in Russia of fundamental endocrinology as of a branch of matrix biology are estimated pessimistically. At present, endocrinology has become a general biological science about hormones as the main regulators of vital processes. Specific hormones are generated by all organs, tissues, and cells of living organisms, functioning as means for communication between organs and tissues, and together with the nervous system unite them into a single whole.

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KEY WORDS: hormone, regulation of vital processes, matrix biology, endocrinology.

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