World of the Body:
androgens
The family of closely related steroid hormones associated mainly with development and maintenance of male sexual function and bodily characteristics. Androgens are made in the testes, and the chief member of the group is testosterone; but they are also made in small quantities in the adrenal glands in both sexes, and during the sequence of steroid synthesis in the ovaries which leads to the end product of oestrogens. As well as the essential function of sperm formation in the testes, androgens promote hairiness and muscular development.
— Stuart Judge
See sex hormones; steroids; testes.
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