Apudomas

✍ Scribed by Walley J. Temple; Janice L. Pasieka

• Book ID: 104594178
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1993
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 308 KB
• Volume: 9
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 8756-0437
• DOI: 10.1002/ssu.2980090502

✦ Synopsis

The incredible pace of new medical knowledge is reflected in a complete new understanding of the APUD system in just one decade. The contributors to this issue document the rapid evolution of knowledge in this organ system based on both molecular and clinical research. Pearce's original hypothesis has been broadened to that of a diffuse neuroendocrine system. It appears that the tissues of this diffuse neuroendocrine system arise from all three embryologic layers. This group of tissues has now expanded to include at least 50 cell types often secreting multiple hormones and peptides and are found in virtually every organ that has been carefully studied. Besides the original organs first described in the APUD system, the diffuse neuroendocrine system has expanded to include organs such as the brain, the skin, the reproductive system and the myocardium.

This highly sophisticated organ system, the third division of the neural system, is most likely at the heart of homeostasis, not only of the organism, but also of the psyche. Numerous hormones found in the periphery are also seen in the brain, such as gastrin, PIP,