Estrogen is any of a group of chemical similar hormones that causes the growth and development of female sexual characteristics in human beings and other animals.
In the human body, estrogens and all other steroids are manufactured from cholesterol. Estrogens are used to treat menopausal disturbances, certain vaginal inflammation, menstrual disorders, and cases of engorgement of the breast following pregnancy. They have also been used with some success in the treatment of cancer of the prostate and breast.
During a girl’s preteen or early teenage years, her ovaries begin to secrete increasing amounts of estrogens into the bloodstream. Estrogen cause the girl to develop breast, rounded hips, and cause the ovaries and genital organs to enlarge and mature. Estrogens also stimulate the lining of the uterus to thicken. The uterine lining is shed during menstruation each month. The amount of estrogen secreted by the ovaries changes during the menstrual cycle.
As the women grows older, her ovaries secrete smaller amounts of estrogens. After the level of estrogens in the blood becomes too low to stimulate the uterine lining, menstruation no longer occurs. The women is then said to be in menopause. Estrogens are also produced in the adrenal glands and the male sex glands. The function of estrogens in male is unclear.
