Progesteron

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A steroid hormone produced mainly in the ovaries and placenta that prepares the uterus for pregnancy and supports gestation; it also plays a role in the menstrual cycle and maintaining pregnancy
2. A biochemical substance secreted by female reproductive organs that regulates the reproductive system by preparing the uterine lining for embryo implantation and sustaining pregnancy; involved in menstrual regulation as well
3. A naturally occurring hormone essential for reproductive health that aids in thickening the uterine lining to enable embryo implantation and supports pregnancy continuation; it influences menstrual phases too

Etymology: Progesterone is a coinage of the 1930s, built from the Latin "pro," meaning "for" or "in favour of," and "gestatio," the act of carrying a pregnancy, with the chemical suffix "-one" (from "ketone") attached. The name therefore means roughly "promoting gestation," a description of its role in preparing the uterus to receive and sustain an embryo. It was named by researchers working on the hormone in the early 1930s, when chemists were isolating and identifying the steroid hormones that the ovary and placenta produce. The "-one" ending is a clue to its chemistry. Chemists use it to mark a ketone, a carbon atom double-bonded to oxygen, and progesterone contains two such groups, so the suffix fits its structure. Many other steroid hormones carry the same ending, such as testosterone and cortisone, which were named in the same period.