Japan Endocrinological Society Its Development and its Background

Abstract

The first issue of FOLIA ENDOCRINOLOGICA JAPONICA was published in 1925 and association for the endocrine study was initiated, but the first annual meeting of this society was held on April 3, 1927, the president being Dr. Kanji Tsuji, Professor of Medicine of Kyoto University and a permanent organization was effected on that time. Since the foundation, the society has made a steady development, however, it was not before 1950 that the general concern to this society became urgent and the participants increased rapidly in number. At present the membership numbers over 2200.
Looking around these forty-five years, there seems to be three distinct periods in this society. I. Period of Foundation (around 1927) -Independency of the endocrine society from the other related societies, in which interest in the endocrine glands had increased at a constantly accelerated pace by that time. II. Period of Expansion (after 1950) ?Al-though almost all scientific societies regained their activities with the end of the IInd World War, progress of steroid chemistry changed the scope of endocrinology and participants of this field increased markedly in this period. The society set up the Eastern and Western Branches in 1953, which have had respective meetings besides the annual meeting of the whole country. Furthermore, Diabetes Society was founded in 1958 and the independent activity started since then. Two national institutes for endocrine study were established during this period, the one in Gumma University (founded in 1951), the other in Tottori University (founded in 1966). And several periodicals for the study of endocrinology were published by some organs. Now three journals are being published periodically by this society, FOLIA ENDOCRINOLOGICA JAPONICA (since 1925, in Japanese), ENDOCRINOLOGIA JAPONICA (since 1954, in English) and PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING (since 1966, in English). III. Period of Richness (after 1960) -Recently peptide hormones have also become measurable and concrete data of most hormones have enabled us to know a more precise insight of the body. Now our members could stand in front of the general medicine with a more comprehensive knowledge of endocrinology.
However, through checking up papers published in the meetings of the recent years, articles about pathologic physiology are overwhelmingly large and those about therapeutic field are found only in two or three percentage. Hereafter the vast knowledge on endocrinology should be applied to the therapeutic field and as this society, too, additional effort and time should be devoted to a therapeutic investigation. Finally many specialists on endocrinology have grown up by the long continuous effort of this society. On the other hand, with the progress in knowledge, the one specialized in one hormone, has become more difficult to understand the other hornmoes. And it is a problem of each researcher himself, but it should be taken into consideration by this society, too, in the arrangement of the annual meeting, -for instance, a coordinated effort on the part of the two societies should be essential between this and diabetes society. It would be desirable that the ex-cellent papers may be estimated properly by all members regardless of their fields and it is my belief that such an attitude of our members may become a greatest motive power for a further elevation of the level of this society.