a gonadotrophic hormone secreted by the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland. In female vertebrates it stimulates ovulation, and in mammals it also induces the conversion of the ruptured follicle into the corpus luteum. In male vertebrates it promotes maturation of the interstitial cells of the testes and stimulates androgen secretion
Abbreviation: LH. Also called: interstitial cell-stimulating hormone. See also follicle-stimulating hormone, prolactin
Word origin
C19: from Latin lūteum egg yolk, from lūteus yellow
luteinizing hormone in American English
a hormone, secreted by the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland, which stimulatesovulation, the development of the corpus luteum with its subsequent secretion of progesterone in females, the development of interstitial tissue, and the secretion of testosterone in the testes of males