Library · Molecule
Estrogen
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Estrogen is the name of a group of hormones, and the main one is called estradiol: it is the most potent and the most abundant during the childbearing years. The ovary makes it.
It is built from another hormone. Testosterone is turned into estradiol by a process called aromatization, and inside the ovary, in the granulosa cells that surround the egg, an enzyme also converts estrone, a weaker estrogen, into estradiol.
In the first half of the cycle, the follicular phase, a hormone called FSH matures several follicles and drives that production, and most of the estrogen ends up coming from the dominant follicle, the one that wins out over the rest.
With menopause the ovary works less and production falls. The work can then be spread among fat tissue, bone, brain, and vessels: it is the main factory closing and leaving the work to small workshops.
In brief
Estradiol is the most potent and abundant estrogen during the reproductive years, and the ovary makes it.
It is synthesized by aromatizing testosterone, and in the granulosa cells an enzyme also converts estrone into estradiol.
In the follicular phase, FSH matures follicles and drives that production; most of it comes from the dominant follicle.
At menopause, synthesis drops because the ovary works less, and it can shift to fat tissue, bone, brain, and vessels.
A main factory that closes and leaves the work spread among small workshops.
Sources (2)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingEstradiol, StatPearlsPublished
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingPhysiology, Menstrual Cycle, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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