Trophin

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A substance that stimulates growth or activity in living tissues
2. A type of hormone that influences specific physiological processes in organisms
3. A compound that promotes nourishment or supports the development of certain cells or organs

Etymology: The root is the Greek "trophē," meaning food or nourishment, which comes from "trephein," to nourish or make grow. English has kept this root in medical and biological terms, such as "atrophy," a wasting away, and "hypertrophy," an abnormal enlargement. "Trophin" adds the suffix "-in," the ending chemists and physiologists attached to substances they had isolated or proposed, as in "pepsin" and "insulin." It names a hypothetical substance thought to govern the nourishment and growth of body tissues. Its meaning is therefore tied to a theory about how the body regulates itself, rather than to a substance anyone has confirmed as a single compound.

Synonyms: growth factor, nutrient, hormone