Estrogen

Estrogen
Drug class
Estradiol, the major estrogen sex hormone in humans and a widely used medication
Class identifiers
UseContraception, menopause, hypogonadism, transgender women, prostate cancer, breast cancer, others
ATC codeG03C
Biological targetEstrogen receptors (ERα, ERβ, mERs (e.g., GPER, others))
External links
MeSHD004967
Legal status
In Wikidata

Estrogen (also spelled oestrogen) is a group of female hormones. It includes oestrone (E1), oestradiol (E2), and oestriol (E3).

Oestradiol is the most important oestrogen. Oestrogen is mainly secreted by the ovary, a small amount by the liver, adrenal cortex, and breast. In pregnancy, the placenta can also have a lot of secretion. Male testes also secrete a small amount. Ovary mainly secretes β-estradiol, other estrogens are less important.

Oestrogen helps women grow during puberty and is part of the menstrual cycle. During menopause, oestrogen levels go down. The male hormone that is similar is androgen.

Biosynthesis

Steroidogenesis, showing estrogens at bottom right as in pink triangle

References

  1. ↑ The word comes from the Greek οἶστρος, meaning gadfly. Its use here is not literal.
  2. ↑ Whitehead S.A. & Nussey S. 2001. Endocrinology: an integrated approach. Oxford: BIOS. ISBN 1-85996-252-1
  3. ↑ Häggström M, Richfield D (2014). "Diagram of the pathways of human steroidogenesis". WikiJournal of Medicine. 1 (1). doi:10.15347/wjm/2014.005. ISSN 2002-4436.