Growth Hormone
Main Entry: growth hormone
Function: noun
: a vertebrate polypeptide hormone that is secreted by the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland and regulates growth; also : a recombinant version of this hormone -- called also somatotropic hormone, somatotropin
Growth hormone, also known as somatotropin, is a protein hormone of about 190 amino acids that is synthesized and secreted by cells called somatotrophs in the anterior pituitary. It is a major participant in control of several complex physiologic processes, including growth and metabolism. Growth hormone is also of considerable interest as a drug used in both humans and animals.
There is a test done to determine the levels of the growth hormone. GH testing is usually provocative, using either a GH stimulation test or a GH suppression test to track GH levels over time. GH testing may be used to screen for abnormal pituitary function, and to help diagnose the condition causing the abnormality, its severity, and the complications that have arisen because of it.
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