Transfer of chemical compounds such as hormones and growth factors from cell to cell.
The hormone secreted by one cell is transmitted a very short distance to the cell it affects. Usually these cells are adjacent to each other.
Messenger or hormone from other than an endocrine gland; in paracrine communication, products of cells diffuse into the extracellular fluid to neighboring cells that may be some distance away. In a related fashion, cells may secrete chemical messengers that bind to receptors on the same cell that secreted it (autocrine communication). Chemical messengers may include amino acids, steroids, and protein peptides.
Secretion of a hormone from a source other than an endocrine gland.