Biology / Unit 12 Bio 2919 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Three Hormone Chemical Classes
Captions available
The idea
Hormones divide into three chemical classes: lipid-derived steroid hormones, amino acid-derived hormones, and peptide hormones, distinguished chiefly by whether they can diffuse across a plasma membrane.
In practice
Testosterone, a steroid hormone, diffuses directly across a target cell's membrane; insulin, a peptide hormone, cannot.
Where people slip
A hormone's chemical class predicts its receptor location, not its potency — small amino acid-derived hormones can have large effects.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
- Nothing. This is a starting point.
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