dihydrotestosterone
/dʌɪˌhʌɪdrəʊtɛsˈtɒstərəʊn
/noun [mass noun] Biochemistry
A male sex hormone which is the active form of testosterone, formed from testosterone in bodily tissue.It also turns the hormone testosterone into dihydrotestosterone, which effects male sexual characteristics....
- These receptors attract the male hormone, dihydrotestosterone, which flows in the blood stream and as a result starts the hair-loss process.
- In the male some tissues are responsive to dihydrotestosterone rather than testosterone itself, and so a deficiency of the enzyme catalyzing this conversion produces the appearance of testosterone deficiency.
Origin
1950s: from dihydro- (in the sense 'containing two hydrogen atoms in the molecule') + testosterone.