Glossary of Terms

Androgen
A steroid hormone that increases male physical characteristics. The most commonly referenced androgen is testosterone.

Climacteric
A period in which there is a gradual decline in a woman's hormone levels; fertility declines, menstrual periods become erratic. It ends with the last menstrual period (menopause).

Combination Hormone Replacement
The combination of estrogen and progestin prescribed together to replace hormones depleted in a woman's body during menopause.

Contraception
Any of a number of techniques used for the prevention of pregnancy.

Continuous Combined Hormone Replacement Therapy
The combination of estrogen and progestin dosed together continuously to replace hormones depleted in a woman's body during menopause.

Conjugated Estrogen (also known as Conjugated Equine Estrogen (CEE))
A mixture of estrogen commonly derived from the urine of pregnant mares. It is a predominant estrogen used for HRT in the United States.

Corpus Luteum
A hormone-producing structure in the ovary that forms after an egg is released.

Cyclical HRT
See Sequential HRT.

Endogenous
Originating or produced within the organism or one of its parts. Endogenous hormones are produced in a woman's body.

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Ethinyl Estradiol
A synthetic estrogenic compound often used in contraceptives.

17ß-Estradiol
Predominant estrogen secreted by the human ovary. Synthetic estrogen used in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and the leading estrogen used for HRT in Europe.

Estrogen
One of two main sex hormones produced naturally by the body that regulates the female reproductive system. The other main hormone is progesterone.

Estrogen Replacement Therapy (ERT)
Estrogen treatment prescribed for women without a uterus to replace estrogen lost during a hysterectomy. ERT is also used to alleviate vasomotor symptoms (e.g., night sweats, hot flashes) associated with menopause and to provide long-term health benefits, such as the prevention of osteoporosis.

Exogenous
Originating or produced outside of the body. Hormone supplements are derived from an outside source and are therefore exogenous.

Fallopian Tubes
The narrow passageways connecting the ovaries to the uterus through which the female egg travels.

Follicle
A blister-like sac on the surface of an ovary that contains the female egg.

Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)
A pituitary gland hormone that stimulates the growth and aging of the Graafian follicles in the ovary.

Follicular Phase
First part of a woman's menstrual cycle during which one or more follicles in the ovary grow to prepare for the releasing of the egg.

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Graafian Follicle
The Graafian follicle is one in which the oocyte, or ovum, attains its full size.

High Density Lipoprotein (HDL)
The fraction of total cholesterol that, when elevated, is associated with a reduced risk for developing heart disease. Also known as "good" cholesterol.

Hormones
Natural chemicals produced by the body that control various body functions.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
A combination treatment of estrogen and progesterone used to replace vital hormones depleted in a woman's body during menopause; HRT is also prescribed to help alleviate vasomotor symptoms (e.g., night sweats and hot flashes) associated with menopause and to provide long-term health benefits, such as the prevention of osteoporosis.

Hot Flashes
One of the physical changes associated with menopause, a sudden, brief increase in body temperature. Hot flashes usually begin before a woman's last menstrual period and continue after menopause. Hot flashes can occur from 1 month to five years or more and vary greatly in intensity and frequency from woman to woman.

Hysterectomy
Surgical procedure to remove a woman's uterus.

Incontinence
One of the physical changes often associated with menopause, incontinence refers to the involuntary loss of urine. During menopause, a woman's decline in the production of estrogen can cause the tissues in and surrounding the urinary tract to gradually become weaker and more prone to irritation and infection, sometimes resulting in incontinence.

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Intermittent Progestin
Dosing approach used in an HRT therapy that combines a constant dose of estrogen with progestin. The progestin is dosed on an intermittent basis—3 days off and 3 days on—in a continuously repeated pattern.

Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL)
The fraction of total cholesterol that, when elevated, is associated with an increased risk for developing heart disease. Also known as "bad" cholesterol.

Luteinizing Hormones (LH)
A pituitary-produced hormone that triggers ovulation and the development of the corpus luteum.

Menopause
The cessation of a woman's menstrual cycles and fertility.

Menstrual Cycle
The repeating, month-long cycle of change in the lining of the uterus. During the cycle, the temporary layer of the endometrium sheds, regenerates, and then sheds again. The average length of the cycle is 28 days.

Micronized Progesterone
An oral form of natural progesterone.

Mini-pills
Oral contraceptives containing only a progestin. Also known as progestin-only pills.

Norgestimate
Synthetic progestin contained in certain oral contraceptives and in one HRT therapy.

Osteoporosis
Thinning and weakening of the bones.

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Ovaries
The two oval organs, on each side of the uterus, that contain a woman's eggs.

Oviducts
Another word for fallopian tubes—the passageways through which eggs travel from the ovary to the uterus.

Ovulate, Ovulation
The release of a mature egg from an ovary.

Perimenopausal
The time before a woman's final menstrual cycle where periods become shorter, lighter, less frequent and less predictable. This reflects a gradual decrease in estrogen production by a woman's ovaries. Perimenopause is also a time when some conditions associated with menopause (e.g., vasomotor symptoms) may occur.

Postmenopausal
Refers to the time following menopause.

Progesterone
Progesterone is a steroid hormone, produced naturally in a woman's ovaries during the second half of the menstrual cycle after ovulation has occurred. It causes the lining of the uterus—the endometrium—to become thick and spongy in preparation for a fertilized egg. Progesterone is one of the hormones that decline as a woman reaches menopause.

Progestin
A synthetic version of the hormone progesterone, which is one of the two main hormones regulating a woman's menstrual cycle. Progestins are used in many contraceptives, including birth control pills, implants and injections. Progestins are also used in combination and progestin-only hormone replacement therapies for menopausal women who still have their uterus intact.

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Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM)
A relatively new class of prescription medications, with some pro- and anti-estrogenic properties, used for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.

Sequential HRT
A hormone replacement therapy regimen involving administration of continuous estrogen throughout the month and usually 10 to 14 days of progestin in repeating cycles. Sequential HRT mimics a woman's natural menstrual cycle.

Testosterone
The principal male sex hormone.

Vaginal Dryness
One of the physical changes associated with the menopause, vaginal lubrication decreases and vaginal tissue becomes thinner and more susceptible to irritation or infection.

Vasomotor Symptoms
Collectively used to describe symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats a woman may experience during menopause.

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