<p> Surgical endocrinology or endocrine surgical oncology is an important component of general surgery and in some areas of head and neck surgery. As reported in Richard Welbourne's book History of Endocrine Surgery, the term "endocrine" is from the Greek endo, meaning within, and kpiveiv, meaning "separate," doc¬umenting the relationship of endocrine surgery and general surgery. Endocrine glands and tumors often make and secrete hormones; "hormone" is a term derived from the Greek word "to excite." Theodur Kocher and Theodor Bilroth contributed much to gen¬eral surgery in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Many of their writings and medical contri¬butions concerned thyroid surgery. </p>

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