dehydrocholesterol

noun

de·​hy·​dro·​cholesterol

dē¦hīdrō+

: a crystalline steroid alcohol C₂₇H₄₃OH that occurs chiefly in higher animals and humans (as in the skin), that is made synthetically from cholesterol, and that yields vitamin D₃ on irradiation with ultraviolet light

called also 7-dehydrocholesterol

Word History

Etymology

dehydr- + cholesterol

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