Hormonal Regulation of Human Growth

Abstract
How does a human being reach normal adult height and weight? Inheritance sets the broad limits — to wit, the shortest elephant towers over the tallest mouse. Nutrition and other environmental factors, including the psychosocial, interact with a panoply of hormones and hormone-like substances and their receptors to bring a person to the full measure of his or her genetic destiny.Among the humoral agents, growth hormone (somatotropin) has long been known to have a pivotal role.1 A deficiency of pituitary growth hormone results in proportionate dwarfism that is responsive to treatment with growth hormone. It is now known, however, . . .