The formation of endocrinology as an independent medical discipline was preceded by the accumulation of medical experience during many centuries. The medicine of the ancient times was developing on the basis of continuity according to the basic principle «relata refero» (I tell what I have been told). Medicine and pharmacy in the countries of the ancient world had many similarities, but at the same time each civilization had its own geographical, cultural and historical particularities. The pathology of the thyroid was among the most studied pathologies in Ancient world. There are frequent mentions of the endemic goiter in the works of doctors from Ancient China, Ancient India and Ancient Greece.

Although the link between iodine and the thyroid was not known, algae and dried sea sponges were using for treating swollen neck.

There are many descriptions of neuroendocrine pathologies in historical sources, for example the Bible describes gigantism and the Talmud — hypoprolactinaemia.

Special attention was paid to the study of diabetes mellitus, although the pathogenesis and treatment of the disease remained unknown until the 20th century.