Oxytocin: cellular and molecular approaches in medicine and research.

In May 1995 the third Hanseatic Endocrine Conference at Stade, Germany, attracted 140 scientists from all over the world to summarize the current knowledge on one hormone--oxytocin. This article presents the major findings of the meeting with the realisation that oxytocin provides major model systems with which to elaborate a whole series of novel endocrinological paradigms, as well as being the example of choice for establishing revolutionary new techniques, which will no doubt spread to studies of other hormone systems. The papers from this symposium will be published in full.