Natural sex hormones are made by the
gonads (
ovaries or
testicles),[3] by
adrenal glands, or by conversion from other sex steroids in other tissue such as liver or fat.[4]
Notes: "The concentration of a steroid in the circulation is determined by the rate at which it is secreted from glands, the rate of metabolism of precursor or prehormones into the steroid, and the rate at which it is extracted by tissues and metabolized. The secretion rate of a steroid refers to the total secretion of the compound from a gland per unit time. Secretion rates have been assessed by sampling the venous effluent from a gland over time and subtracting out the arterial and peripheral venous hormone concentration. The metabolic clearance rate of a steroid is defined as the volume of blood that has been completely cleared of the hormone per unit time. The production rate of a steroid hormone refers to entry into the blood of the compound from all possible sources, including secretion from glands and conversion of prohormones into the steroid of interest. At steady state, the amount of hormone entering the blood from all sources will be equal to the rate at which it is being cleared (metabolic clearance rate) multiplied by blood concentration (production rate = metabolic clearance rate × concentration). If there is little contribution of prohormone metabolism to the circulating pool of steroid, then the production rate will approximate the secretion rate." Sources: See template.
Types
In many contexts, the two main classes of sex hormones are androgens and estrogens, of which the most important human derivatives are
testosterone and
estradiol, respectively. Other contexts will include
progestogens as a third class of sex steroids, distinct from androgens and estrogens.[5]Progesterone is the most important and only naturally occurring human progestogen. In general, androgens are considered "male sex hormones", since they have masculinizing effects, while estrogens and progestogens are considered "female sex hormones"[6] although all types are present in each sex at different levels.
There are also many synthetic sex steroids.[7] Synthetic androgens are often referred to as
anabolic steroids. Synthetic estrogens and progestins are used in methods of
hormonal contraception.
Ethinylestradiol is a semi-synthetic estrogen. Specific compounds that have partial agonist activity for
steroid receptors, and therefore act in part like natural steroid hormones, are in use in medical conditions that require treatment with steroid in one cell type, but where systemic effects of the particular steroid in the entire organism are only desirable within certain limits.[8]
^Catherine Panter-Brick; Agustín Fuentes. "Glossary". Health, Risk, and Adversity - Volume 2 of Studies of the Biosocial Society. Berghahn Books, 2011. p. 280.
^ElAttar, TM; Hugoson, A (1974). "Comparative metabolism of female sex steroids in normal and chronically inflamed gingiva of the dog". Journal of Periodontal Research. 9 (5): 284–9.
doi:
10.1111/j.1600-0765.1974.tb00683.x.
PMID4281823.