Estrogen - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Estrogen or oestrogen is a group of female hormones.[1] 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.[2]
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
[change | change source]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Steroidogenesis.svg/450px-Steroidogenesis.svg.png)
References
[change | change source]- ↑ The word comes from the Greek οἶστρος, meaning gadfly. Its use here is not literal.
- ↑ Whitehead S.A. & Nussey S. 2001. Endocrinology: an integrated approach. Oxford: BIOS. ISBN 1-85996-252-1
- ↑ 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.