A lot of papers on endometriosis that talk about measurements are talking about hormones. Reading about the study of those chemicals and mechanisms lead me to read Wikipedia’s article on the topic. These were the main high level points from the introductory paragraph:
- “is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions called hormones”
- and it’s mechanisms: “the coordination of metabolism, respiration, excretion, movement, reproduction, and sensory perception depend on chemical cues, substances synthesized and secreted by specialized cells.”
- “is concerned with the study of the biosynthesis, storage, chemistry, and physiological function of hormones and with the cells of the endocrine glands and tissues that secrete them.”
- “The endocrine system consists of several glands, all and in different parts of the body, that secrete hormones directly into the blood rather than into a duct system. Hormones have many different functions and modes of action; one hormone may have several effects on different target organs, and, conversely, one target organ may be affected by more than one hormone.”
- “In the original 1902 definition by Bayliss and Starling, they specified that, to be classified as a hormone, a chemical must be produced by an organ, be released (in small amounts) into the blood, and be transported by the blood to a distant organ to exert its specific function. This definition holds for most “classical” hormones, but there are also paracrine mechanisms (chemical communication between cells within a tissue or organ), autocrine signals (a chemical that acts on the same cell), and intracrine signals (a chemical that acts within the same cell)”