What makes up steroids

Cholesterol Cholesterol is the most common steroid and is mainly synthesized in the liver; it is the precursor to vitamin D. Provided by : Boundless. October 16, Provided by : Wiktionary. Located at : en. Provided by : Wikibooks. October 22, Provided by : Wikimedia.

Located at : commons. Provided by : Boundless Learning. Located at : www. Thus, steroids also play an important role in the structure and function of membranes. It has also been discovered that steroids can be active in the brain where they affect the nervous system, These neurosteroids alter electrical activity in the brain. They can either activate or tone down receptors that communicate messages from neurotransmitters.

Since these neurosteroids can tone down receptors and decrease brain activity, steroids are often used in anesthetic medicines. Boundless vets and curates high-quality, openly licensed content from around the Internet. This particular resource used the following sources:. Skip to main content. Search for:. Learning Objective Describe some functions of steroids. They are powerful compounds that alter genetic function, causing numerous effects in the body. They regulate many physiologic functions.

A non-polar or non-charged compound mixes well with organic solvents and lipids but not with water. A polar substance or drug mixes well with water but not with organic solvents and lipids. Polar or charged compounds do not cross cell membranes lipid very easily.

Figure 1 The general structure of a steroid molecule is shown. Different steroids are defined by the location of polar hydroxyl groups OH attached to the C atoms within the rings. Figure 2 The structure of testosterone is shown. This steroid, synthesized in the testes, has both anabolic and androgenic properties.

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