A hormone-containing substance extracted from the adrenal cortex; an early term for the active principles in adrenal gland secretions.
From Latin cortex (bark, rind) + -in (chemical suffix). This term was coined in early 20th-century endocrinology to describe the mysterious active substances being isolated from adrenal tissue.
Before scientists could identify individual hormones like cortisol, they called the whole adrenal extract 'cortin'—kind of like calling all the ingredients in a cake 'cake-stuff' before you knew what flour and sugar were.
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