Second Edition Introduction

 Since I went to university almost 50 years ago, I noticed that general endocrinology always took the major share in all endocrinology related text books. Accordingly, I thought it was high time that a new contribution should aim at the silent majority who found it difficult to follow these classical texts, and to take their theme into clinical practice. Accordingly, I thought of taking the field of Reproduction Endocrinology into the domain of gynaecologists, and make it part of their daily practice. I also tried to simplify all big issues, and I hope I have scored some success in fulfilling this purpose in 14 chapters, starting with The Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Ovarian Axis, and ending with Endocrine Investigations in Gynaecology. This effort took two years of my time to publish the first edition, and I hope the readers found it useful.

I have been thinking for some time of converting the first edition of the book into an ebook, to make it widely available to every one interested in the field of Reproductive Endocrinology. I consider myself a big fan of this branch of medicine. My friends think about it as paranoia, rather than mere interest. They may be right, but my passion can be understood since almost all aspects of gynaecology became understandable due to the advances that took place in the field of reproductive medicine. This made gynaecology itself more interesting.

I once delivered a lecture about Reproductive Medicine as 'The Branch That Overgrew The Gynaecology Tree'. In reality, gynaecology itself became one aspect in a complex speciality made of Endocrinology, imaging and Ultrasonography, Minimal Access Surgery, Andrology, Genetics, Laboratory Management and Embryology, Reproductive Immunology, and Counselling; all embraced by the title Reproductive Medicine and Surgery.

I refer you back to the first edition Introduction, which still explicitly explains why gynaecologists need to get more involved in this branch of medicine. Our proximity to reproduction, its failure, success and the need for its contol make us a better group to lead the way in this field. For this reason, I have put this edition of the book free for all to read and download, if so desired. The new advances since I started writing the first edition many years ago up to now, have propelled me to make the necessary additions and changes to reflect our current knowledge of the subject. I am sure more information will be available in the next few weeks, months and years, and we need to be ready to share it in a wide scale.

I will take no more of your time, and I invite you enjoy this edition of the book.

Ahmed Abdel-Gadir