prostaglandin

pros·tag·lan·din

UK/pɹɒstəˈɡlændɪn/ US/proʊstæˈɡlændɪn/ uncommon

noun

potent hormone-like substance found in many bodily tissues (and especially in semen); produced in response to trauma and may affect blood pressure and metabolism and smooth muscle activity

Origin

From German Prostaglandin. Equivalent to prosta(te) + gland + -in. So called because it was originally believed to be secreted by the prostate.

Related words

Broader terms

autacoid

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.

noun
singular	prostaglandin
plural	prostaglandins