somatotrophic, -tropic, a. Physiol.
(ˌsəʊmətəʊˈtrəʊfɪk), (ˈtrəʊpɪk, -ˈtrɒpɪk)
[f. somato- + -trophic, -tropic.]
Pertaining to or having the property of stimulating body growth; spec. applied to the hormone somatotrophin.
| 1938 H. L. Wieman Gen. Zool. (ed. 3) x. 206 The somatotropic hormone is necessary for the normal growth and development of the body. 1952 Amer. Jrnl. Physiol. CLXXI. 381 Some of the most striking effects of..cortisone..are directly opposed to the actions of the ‘growth hormone’ or somatotrophic hormone (STH). 1960 Biol. Abstr. XXXV. 1154/2 The somatotropic activity of the plasma was evaluated. 1977 Lancet 23 July 198/1, hg.h. secretion from another somatotrophic adenoma..was inhibited..by bromocriptine. |
Hence somatoˈtrophin, -ˈtropin, a hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary which promotes the release of somatomedin; growth hormone.
| 1947 H. Selye Textbk. Endocrinol. iii. 217/2 Denaturation of somatotrophin by treatment with urea does not influence its growth-promoting potency. 1952 Endocrinol. LI. 300 Growth hormone (somatotropin) can produce a growth-promoting and diabetogenic response in the developing chick embryo. 1965 Lee & Knowles Animal Hormones ii. 21 The growth hormone, also referred to as somatotrophin (STH), not only controls the rate of growth, but also the metabolism necessary for this growth. 1973 Sci. Amer. Sept. 41/3 (caption) Somatotrophin, acting with other hormones, regulates the normal growth of children. 1974 D. & M. Webster Compar. Vertebr. Morphol. xiii. 307 The growth hormone, somatotropin, produced by acidophilic cells, is a branched protein with about 200 amino acids. |