What is growth hormone and what does growth hormone do?

Growth hormone is produced by the pituitary, and it's a vital hormone during young life for vertical growth, during young adulthood to help bone and muscle development, but actually throughout life as an important hormone in metabolism. Growth hormone in excess from pituitary tumour is the cause of gigantism in young individuals, in those rare circumstances where a pituitary tumour making excess growth hormone causes unopposed, accelerated, and continuous growth. In adulthood, once the bones are fused, excess growth hormone produces a condition call acromegaly. Literally speaking, that means the development of large hands and extremities, and it does cause big hands, changes in the jaw, characteristic features that are often, eventually, recognised by clinician.