Steroids In Nonmammalian Vertebrates

Steroids in Nonmammalian Vertebrates offers a critical assessment of each identification and/or quantification of a steroid in nonmammalian vertebrates, with particular reference to fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Discussions focus on corticosteroids, androgens, estrogens, functional morphology of steroidogenic tissues, and biological effects of steroid hormones. The methods used to study steroid biosynthesis are also covered. This text is comprised of eight chapters; the first of which explains the importance of understanding the endocrinology of nonmammalian vertebrates. The reader is then introduced to the methods used in the isolation, identification, and quantification of steroids. The criteria for the identification of steroids isolated from natural sources are described, and the in vivo and in vitro methods for steroid biosynthesis are compared. The next chapter focuses on the functional morphology of the testis, ovary, interrenal tissue, and adnexa, such as Bidder's organ and the corpuscles of Stannius, of nonmammalian vertebrates. This book also explores the identification and quantification of corticosteroids, estrogens, and androgens in fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Emphasis is placed on factors affecting corticosteroidogenesis in fish, protein binding of sex hormones in fishes and amphibians, and physicochemical aspects of steroid hormones. This book will be of interest to students and scientists in the fields of zoology and biology.