When Emeritus Professor Eric Espiner commenced
training as a physician specialising in endocrinology,
there were no validated tests for the
hormones thought to be the cause of many of the
disorders encountered in clinical practice. That all
changed in the 1950s and Espiner was in the right
place at the right time to begin his unplanned and
immensely productive career.
A Physician’s Journey is one of discovery: how
hormones can be used or manipulated to benefit
the health of a patient. Findings that the heart in
humans is itself an endocrine gland have changed
the established view of how cardiovascular health
is maintained in people; that some of these same
heart hormones also participate in maintaining
health in such diverse areas as skeletal development
and neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s
disease.
Written with the wisdom and insights borne
of more than 90 years of life, Eric Espiner’s
memoir offers an engaging account of curious
and dedicated physicians working alongside
like-minded scientists, across disciplines, in a
community hospital where the culture of enquiry
was firmly entrenched. It highlights how chance,
shifting opportunities and the vagaries of funding
can determine research outcomes.