Hormonal imprinting takes place at the first encounter between the developing receptor
and its target hormone and the encounter determines the receptor's binding capacity for life. In the
critical period of development, when the window for imprinting is open, the receptor can be misdirected
by related hormones, synthetic hormones, and industrial or communal endocrine disruptors
which cause faulty hormonal imprinting with life-long consequences. Considering these facts, the
hormonal imprinting is a functional teratogen provoking alterations in the perinatal (early postnatal)
period. One single encounter with a low dose of the imprinter in the critical developmental period
is enough for the formation of faulty imprinting, which is manifested later, in adult age. This
has been justified in the immune system, in sexuality, in animal behavior and brain neurotransmitters
etc. by animal experiments and human observations. This review points to the faulty hormonal
imprinting in the case of bones (skeleton), by single or repeated treatments. The imprinting is an
epigenetic alteration which is inherited to the progeny generations. From clinical aspect, the faulty
imprinting can have a role in the pathological development of the bones as well, as in the risk of
osteoporotic fractures, etc.
