On the centennial of hormones. A tribute to Ernest H. Starling and William M. Bayliss

Ernest H. Starling introduced the term hormone 100 years ago in his Croonian Lectures to the Royal College of Physicians in June 1905. It was demonstrated for the first time that one part of the body could influence the function of another distant part. Starling for the first time suggested the word hormone. This review attempts to trace the development of studies in endocrinology, beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century. Starling discovered secretin, the first hormone, in collaboration with William M. Bayliss, and they introduced the hormone concept with recognition of chemical regulation. Thus the name hormone sparked multidisciplinary research in endocrinology and molecular biology, which shed light on the chemical communication within the organism.