progesterone
/prəˈdʒɛstərəʊn
/noun [mass noun] Biochemistry
A steroid hormone released by the corpus luteum that stimulates the uterus to prepare for pregnancy.You stick it on your skin and it releases two hormones - oestrogen and progesterone....
- During pregnancy, the amount of two female hormones, oestrogen and progesterone, increases.
- The ovaries also produce the female hormones, oestrogen and progesterone.
Origin
1930s: blend of progestin and the German synonym Luteosteron (from corpus luteum + sterol).