cortisol etymology

Etymology:

  • Origin: Greek kortizōn "a type of wax" + -ol (chemical suffix)
  • Coined: 1935 by Tadeus Reichstein, a Swiss chemist who first isolated the hormone

Meaning:

Cortisol, also known as the "stress hormone," is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands. It regulates a wide range of physiological processes, including metabolism, immune response, and energy mobilization.

Origin:

Cortisol was first discovered in 1935 by Tadeus Reichstein, a Swiss chemist who isolated it from the adrenal glands of sheep. He named the hormone "cortisone" after the Greek word kortizōn, which referred to a type of wax. The suffix "-ol" was added to indicate that the hormone is an alcohol.

In 1948, the American chemist Edward Kendall isolated the same hormone from human urine and named it "hydrocortisone." This name reflected the fact that the adrenal glands also produce a hormone known as aldosterone, which contains an aldehyde group (-CHO). To distinguish between the two hormones, Kendall added the prefix "hydro-" to the name "cortisone" to indicate that his isolated hormone had a hydroxyl group (-OH) instead.

Over time, the name "cortisol" became more commonly used to refer to the hormone than "cortisone," although both names are still used interchangeably.

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