follicle-stimulating hormone

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follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH; follitropin) A hormone, secreted by the anterior pituitary gland in mammals, that stimulates, in female mammals, ripening of specialized structures in the ovary (Graafian follicles) that produce ova and, in males, the formation of sperm in the testis. It is a major constituent of fertility drugs, used to treat failure of ovulation and decreased sperm production. See also gonadotrophin.

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