A corticosteroid that induces some deposition of glycogen in the liver, sodium conservation, and potassium excretion; the principal glucocortoid in the rat.
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cor·ti·co·ste·rone .kȯrt-ə-'käs-tə-.rōn, -i-kō-stə-'; .kȯrt-i-kō-'sti(ə)r-.ōn, -'ste(ə)r- n a colorless crystalline corticosteroid C21H30O4 of the adrenal cortex that is important in protein and carbohydrate metabolism
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n.
a steroid hormone (see corticosteroid) synthesized and released in small amounts by the adrenal cortex.
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cor·ti·cos·ter·one (kor″tĭ-kosґtər-ōn) a glucocorticoid with moderate activity, having life-maintaining properties in adrenalectomized animals and several other activities peculiar to the adrenal cortex. Its actions closely resemble those of cortisol, except that it is not antiinflammatory. It also shows some mineralocorticoid activity.Medical dictionary. 2011.