Acromegalia - the serious endocrine disease caused by superfluous production of a hormone of body height (Somatotropinum) and described disproportional body height of bones of a skeleton, soft tissues and internal organs.

Etiology, pathogenesis. Defining role is played with enlarged production of a hormone of the body height, caused at the overwhelming majority sick of an adenoma of a pituitary body. Very seldom supersecretion of a hormone of body height is caused by a tumour of other localization (a pancreas, lungs, ovaries, a mediastinum).

Signs, current. Are ill equally often men and women mainly in the age of 30-50 years. Patients complain of delicacy, a headache, a joint pain, feeling of a numbness of extremities, disturbance of the dream, the raised sweating, women - on disturbance of menstrual and genital function, a lactorrhea, men - on depression of a potency. Changes of appearance occur slowly and, as a rule, not patients, and by associates for the first time are marked. There is a growth of soft tissues of the face: labiums, auricles are enlarged a nose; the skin forms rasping cords on the face and a head, especially in the field of cheeks, a forehead and a nape. Owing to a thickening of vocal chords the voice becomes low, in a dream of patients snore. The augmentation of brushes and stop mainly at width, a thickening of calcaneuses with development of exostoses are marked. At the open zones of body height disease is accompanied by a gigantism. The volume of a thorax is enlarged, intercostal spaces extend, the backbone with development of a scoliosis or a kyphosis can be deformed.