Cortisones

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Man-made steroid hormones that reduce inflammation and suppress immune responses
2. Artificial compounds that act like natural steroids to ease swelling and allergic reactions
3. Synthetic drugs mimicking adrenal hormones to treat inflammation and immune disorders

Etymology: Cortisone is a shortened form of "corticosterone," and the plural here simply refers to several members of that family of drugs. The "cortico-" part comes from Latin "cortex," meaning bark or rind, a reference to the outer layer of the adrenal glands, where the natural hormones are produced. The "-sterone" ending belongs to the steroid family, whose name points back to the Ancient Greek "stereós," meaning solid or firm, describing the rigid four-ring chemical skeleton shared by these molecules. The chain of names runs through several languages. Ancient Greek "kholḗ," meaning bile, gave French "cholestérine," which English took up as "cholesterol" and then "sterol." Chemists building names for related compounds then borrowed the pattern: "-one," as in ketone, from German "Keton," became a suffix for the ketone-containing hormones. Adding "-one" to "corticosterone" produced the same ending, and the shorter "cortisone" followed.

Synonyms: steroids, anti-inflammatories