This document discusses several sex hormones: - Testosterone is the main male sex hormone, promoting male sexual development and secondary sex characteristics at puberty. It also contributes to muscle growth and bone growth in males. - Estrogen exists in three forms and is important for female sexual development and fertility. It promotes breast development, feminine traits, and thickening of the uterine lining. - Progesterone prepares the uterus for pregnancy and supports pregnancy maintenance by thickening the uterine lining and allowing implantation. - Inhibin inhibits FSH production and is involved in gamete production and embryonic development. High inhibin-A levels may indicate Down syndrome in pregnancy screening tests. - Relaxin relaxes the uterus, prepares

1. Sex Hormones
By
Rani I. Gurudasani
M.pharm

2. 1. Testosterone:
•Testosterone is the principal sex hormone in
males and is produced in the testes (testicles).
•At puberty, testosterone promotes the
maturation and growth of the male sex organs.
•It also aids in the development of male
secondary sex characteristics such as deep
voices and beards.

3. 1. Testosterone:
•It also contributes to the greater muscular
development and bone growth of male.
•Testosterone is essential for maintaining
male fertility.
•Testosterone is essential for many aspects of
spermatogenesis, including meiosis and
differentiation of haploid germ cells.

4. 2. Estrogen
• Estrogen is present in body are of three types
• Estrone:This is present in body after menopause. It is weaker
form of estrogen and converted into oestrogen when required.
• Estradiol:This is common type of estrogen and produce in both
male and female, over production of estradiol leads to acne, loss
of sex drive, osteoporosis.Very high production increase risk of
uterus cancer & breast cancer. Estradiol in men is essential for
modulating libido, erectile function, and spermatogenesis.
• Estriol:This secreted during pregnancy, it prepares body for
pregnancy.

5. 2. Estrogen
•Estrogens are produced in the adrenal cortex and
contribute to the secondary sex characteristics of
women-breast development, high voices, and lack of
facial hair.
•Estrogens are important to the development of the egg,
the ovum, in the ovaries.
•Estrogens promote growth of the follicle and also
stimulate thickening of the uterine lining.

6. 3. Progesterone:
•Progesterone causes changes in the wall of the
uterus that prepare it for pregnancy.
•Progestrone maintain pregnancy.
•The action of progesterone maintains the
thickness of the uterine lining and stimulates the
lining's final development.

7. 3. Progesterone:
•If egg get fertilized, Progesterone makes
implantation of the fertilized egg on the uterine wall
possible, promotes the development of the
mammary glands, and prevents new follicles and
eggs from maturing.

8. 4. Inhibin:
•Inhibin designated inhibin-A and Inhibin-B.
•It secreted by the gonads by Sertoli cells in the male and
the granulosa cells in the female.
•It inhibit the production of follicle-stimulating hormone
(FSH) by the pituitary gland .
•The inhibins are also involved in the control of the
production of gametes and embryonic and fetal
development .

9. 4. Inhibin:
•As inhibin-A is elevated in the blood serum of women
carrying a fetus with Down syndrome .
•Inhibin-A is included in the maternal serum screening
tests for Down syndrome in the second
trimester of pregnancy .

10. 5. Relaxin:
• In women, relaxin is secreted into the circulation by the corpus
luteum in the ovary and during pregnancy it released from
the placenta .
• In men, relaxin is secreted from the prostate gland and can be
detected in the semen, but is not generally found in the blood
circulation.
• The role of relaxin in men is less clear. However, there is
evidence that it may increase the movement of sperm cells in
the semen.

11. 5. Relaxin:
•Relaxin levels in the circulation rise after ovulation
and relax the wall of the uterus by inhibiting
contractions, and it also prepares the lining of the
uterus for pregnancy.
•In early pregnancy relaxin inhibits contractions in
the wall of the uterus, to prevent premature
childbirth.

12. 5. Relaxin:
•In first trimester of pregnancy relaxin promote
implantation of the developing fetus into the wall of
the uterus and the growth of the placenta.
•Relaxin decreases tissue fibrosis in the kidney, heart,
lungs and liver, and promotes wound healing.