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Steroid hormones 

Steroid hormones
Chapter:
Steroid hormones
Author(s):

Enda McVeigh

, John Guillebaud

, and Roy Homburg

DOI:
10.1093/med/9780199650682.003.0002
Page of

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date: 11 April 2021

Introduction

Steroid hormone biosynthesis reactions

Gonadal steroid hormones

Steroid-binding proteins

Further reading

Steroid hormones are synthesized mainly in the gonads (testis and ovary), the adrenals, and (during gestation) by the fetoplacental unit. They act on both peripheral target tissues and the central nervous system (CNS). Gonadal steroids influence the sexual differentiation of the genitalia and of the brain, determine 2° sexual characteristics during development and sexual maturation, contribute to the maintenance of their functional state in adulthood, and control or modulate sexual behaviour. There are five major classes of steroid hormones: progestogens (progestational hormones), glucocorticoids (anti-stressing hormones), mineralocorticoids (Na...

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