human chorionic gonadotropin

noun

: a glycoprotein hormone similar in structure to luteinizing hormone that is secreted by the placenta during early pregnancy to maintain corpus luteum function and is commonly tested for as an indicator of pregnancy

Examples of human chorionic gonadotropin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Pregnancy tests measure a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) which is secreted by the placenta starting in early pregnancy. —​wendy Wisner, Parents, 18 Nov. 2023

First, the pregnancy hormones progesterone and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) cause an increase in blood volume throughout the body. —Kimberly A. Daly, Parents, 21 Aug. 2023

The only way to know for sure was to test my level of human chorionic gonadotropin, better known as hCG, a hormone that doubles every 72 hours in early pregnancy. —Megan Turchi, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Jan. 2023

When a woman gets pregnant, her body immediately starts making the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). —Discover Magazine, 29 June 2010

The mini-placentas also produced hormones that typical placentas make such as human chorionic gonadotropin, the hormone many over-the-counter pregnancy tests measure, Moffett and colleagues report today in the journal Nature. —Roni Dengler, Discover Magazine, 29 Nov. 2018

Prior to the introduction of Lupron, patients were triggered with an injection of human chorionic gonadotropin, which carried a risk of hyperstimulation. —Hannah Jackson, ELLE, 8 Dec. 2022

Followers were advised to take a dietary supplement containing human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone produced during pregnancy, and limit their food intake to 500 calories a day (!). —Maggie O'Neill, SELF, 7 Nov. 2022

Or people may take a pregnancy test before their bodies have produced a measurable amount of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone that pregnant people produce. —Melissa Matthews, SELF, 8 July 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1939, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

human chorionic gonadotropin

noun

: a glycoprotein hormone similar in structure to luteinizing hormone that is secreted by the placenta during early pregnancy to maintain corpus luteum function and stimulate placental progesterone production, is found in the urine and blood serum of pregnant women, is commonly tested for as an indicator of pregnancy, is used medically to induce ovulation and to treat male hypogonadism and cryptorchidism, and is produced in certain cancers (as of the testes)

—abbreviation HCG