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Glite Dictionary
luteinizing hormone

luteinizing hormone

6.1
A hormone that makes a woman release an egg and helps make male sex hormones
  • noun
  • /ˈluːtəˌnaɪzɪŋ ˈhɔːrmoʊn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : hormona luteinizante
  • Doctors often measure luteinizing hormone levels to assess reproductive health in both men and women.
  • luteinizing hormone (LH)
  • luteinizing hormone and follicle

Examples

  • A fertility monitor captured data on peak luteinizing hormone concentrations indicative of ovulation.

    Academic text (2015)

  • The pituitary gland produces and stores luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).

    Academic text (2012)

  • The fertility monitor detected a surge in luteinizing hormone, indicating that ovulation was about to occur.

  • A high level of luteinizing hormone in the blood can signal a problem with the pituitary gland.

Synonyms

LH
vsluteinizing hormone
  • Specialized
2 8.5

A hormone that causes an egg to leave the ovary and helps men make testosterone

is the full formal name rather than the short abbreviation
ICSH
vsluteinizing hormone
  • Archaic
1 9.8

A hormone that causes women to release an egg and makes men's sex glands produce testosterone

is the preferred full name rather than the old abbreviation
interstitial cell-stimulating hormone
vsluteinizing hormone
  • Archaic
7.8

A hormone from a small gland in the brain that makes females release eggs and males produce male hormones

is the concise functional term used in modern terminology

Surface Forms

luteinizing hormone singular
luteinizing hormones plural

Morphology

luteinize + hormone

The phrase is compositionally transparent: 'luteinizing' means causing luteinization (inducing formation of the corpus luteum) and 'hormone' is a chemical messenger, so together they denote a hormone that causes luteinization. Although technical/medical, the adjectival modifier + noun pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

The term luteinizing hormone comes from lutein, a word meaning 'yellow', because the hormone causes a small part of the ovary to turn yellow after it releases an egg. So, the name links to its job: it triggers 'ovulation' in women and helps make male hormones in men.