Treatment of endocrine disorders is an important branch of medicine and many drugs have been developed for use in this area. Endocrine disorders and the drugs used to treat them are quite diverse, ranging from iodine-containing thyroxine analogs used to treat hypothyroidism, to steroid androgens, progestins and estrogens.

This Handbook contains records for all the major drugs currently used in endocrinology. Monographs are provided for 818 endocrine agents and steroids. For each main entry, the following information is provided: the chemical name and a list of trade names and synonyms; the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry Number; the European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances (EINECS) Number, and the Merck Index (12th edition) Number. The physical properties of each compound are described and the known biological activity and indicated applications are presented. The structure of each compound is provided, together with a summary of the acute toxicity data associated with it, and the manufacturers and suppliers of the drug are also given. Indexes, including a master index of names and synonyms, are appended.