Clinical aspects of endocrinology

Providing anaesthesia for surgery pertaining to the endocrine system can be difficult and challenging. An understanding of the endocrine and biochemical abnormalities is essential. This article concentrates on surgery for the thyroid gland encompassing details of the pathology, biochemistry and pharmacological management. Also addressed are surgery on the parathyroids and the implications for calcium homeostasis, and the implications of diseases of the adrenal cortex.