Pronunciation: ster'an, ster'an
Definition: The hypothetic parent molecule for any steroid hormone; a saturated hydrocarbon compound that contains no oxygen. The name was originally conceived to achieve forms of systematic nomenclature, but is now supplanted by the fundamental variants: gonane, estrane, androstane, norandrostane (etiane), cholane, cholestane, ergostane, pregnane, and stigmastane.
See Also: steroids
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Examples: glitazone, GI cocktail, etc.