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Hormone - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Hormone : (noun)
1: the secretion of an endocrine gland that is transmitted by
the blood to the tissue on which it has a specific effect
[syn: endocrine, internal secretion]
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Hormone : \Hor"mone\ (h[^o]r"m[=o]n), n. [Based on Gr. "orma`ein to
excite.] (Physiol. Chem.)
A chemical substance formed in one organ and carried in the
circulation to another organ on which it exerts a stimulating
effect; thus, according to Starling, the gastric glands are
stimulated by a hormone from the pyloric mucous membrane.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Hormone : Hormone: A chemical substance produced in the body that controls and regulates the activity of certain cells or organs.
Many hormones are secreted by specialized glands such as the metabolism , growth, reproduction, and mood control. Many hormones, such as the neurotransmitters, are active in more than one
physical process.
Examples of hormones include testosterone .
A hormone originally denoted a chemical made by a gland for export to another part of the body. Now a hormone is more broadly any chemical, irrespective of whether it is produced by a special gland
or not, for export or domestic use, that "controls and regulates the activity of certain cells or organs.". The word "hormao" which means "I set in motion" or "I stir up" was used in ancient Greece to
covey the "vital principle" of "getting the juices flowing." The word "hormone" was resurrected in 1902 (not 1906, as the Oxford English Dictionary states) by the English physiologists Wm. M. Bayliss
and Ernest H. Starling who that year reported their discovery of a substance made by glands in the pancreatic secretion. They called the substance "secretin" and dubbed it a "hormone", the first
known hormone.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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