What is a hormone?

Hormones, commonly known as "hormones", refer to chemical information substances synthesized by highly differentiated endocrine cells and secreted directly into the blood, which affect the physiological activities of the human body by regulating the metabolic activities of various tissues and cells.

Hormone is an efficient bioactive substance secreted by endocrine glands or endocrine cells, which acts as a messenger to transmit information in the body and regulate the physiological process of the body. It is an important substance in our life.

Types of hormones

Hormones can be roughly divided into four categories according to their chemical structures.

1, the first category is steroids, such as adrenocortical hormones (cortisol, aldosterone, etc. ) and sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone and androgen, etc. ).

2. The second category is amino acid derivatives, including thyroxine, adrenomedullin and pineal hormone.

3. The structure of the third kind of hormones is peptide and protein, such as hypothalamic hormone, pituitary hormone, gastrointestinal hormone, insulin and calcitonin.

4. The fourth category is fatty acid derivatives, such as prostaglandin.