Hormone, Diabetes and Metabolism Terms

Pioglitazone is an oral diabetes medication that improves the body's sensitivity to insulin rather than increasing the amount of insulin the pancreas releases.

Called the master gland, it takes its own orders from the hypothalamus directly above, which makes the title only half deserved.

A tumor that forms in the pituitary gland.

A condition marked by infertility, enlarged ovaries, menstrual problems, high levels of male hormones, excess hair on the face and body, acne, and obesity.

A procedure in which a small amount of radioactive glucose (sugar) is injected into a vein, and a scanner is used to make detailed, computerized pictures of areas inside the body where the glucose…

Mostly read as a second opinion on estrogen receptor status, since hormone treatment targets estrogen rather than progesterone.

The absence matters mainly in combination, since what it adds depends entirely on whether the estrogen receptor is present too.

Premarin is a brand name hormone medication supplying a mixture of estrogens used to relieve menopausal symptoms and related conditions.

A substance that can produce oxygen byproducts of metabolism that can cause damage to cells.

Its rise and fall runs the second half of the cycle, and a well-timed measurement says whether ovulation happened at all.

Describes cells that do not have a protein to which the hormone progesterone will bind.

Describes cells that have a protein to which the hormone progesterone will bind.

A lab test to find out if cancer cells have progesterone receptors (proteins to which the hormone progesterone will bind).

A tablet preparation formulated for vaginal administration containing a micronized synthetic form of the endogenous steroid hormone progesterone with progesterone activity.

Prostaglandins are lipid signaling compounds made throughout the body that promote inflammation, pain, fever, and smooth muscle contraction.

A noninvasive imaging method that provides information about cellular activity (metabolic information).

Puberty is the hormonally driven stage of physical development that transitions a child's body toward adult reproductive capability.

Taking the whole kidney out inside its fatty envelope, an operation now kept for tumors too large or awkward to cut around.

Iodine carrying a radioactive label, taken up by thyroid cells so that it can either photograph them or destroy them.

A procedure in which drugs that block the production of male hormones are alternated with male hormones and/or drugs that promote the production of male hormones.