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Steroid
Hormone
The steroid
hormones, secreted by the adrenal cortex and the
gonads, are characterized by a common fourring
structure.
Seemingly slight
modifications in chemical structure result in
very great differences in biological activity.
On the basis of their activity and their
structure, the steroid hormones can be grouped
into the following functional categories: (1)
androgenic hormones, (2) estrogenic hormones,
(3) progestational hormones, and (4)
corticosteroid hormones. These can be divided
further into the subcategories of
glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids.
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