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Androgens
Last reviewed: 05.07.2025
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The main representatives of androgens in the female body are testosterone, androstenedione and DHEAS. Androgens stimulate the growth of hair on the pubis and armpits, increase libido and affect the size of the clitoris and labia majora. Androgens modulate the production of gonadotropins in the anterior pituitary gland.
In the male body, the main representatives of androgens are testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Most of the testosterone in the blood serum is bound to SHG (approximately 60%). The proportion of free testosterone is 1-3%, and the proportion of testosterone bound to albumin is approximately 40%. Only free testosterone and testosterone bound to albumin can penetrate the target organs ( prostate, seminal vesicles and skin ). Having reached the target organ and penetrated into the cells, testosterone is converted into DHT by 5α-reductase (the main amount is formed in the prostate gland), and only then does DHT exert its biological effect. In other target organs, such as muscles and kidneys, the effect of androgens is realized directly. Hyperandrogenemia in women leads to virilization and fertility disorders. This determines the importance of determining androgens in the diagnosis of female infertility.
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