Prolactin

A hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary that promotes lactation in the female and may stimulate testosterone secretion in the male. Inhibiting and releasing factors in the brain in part control prolactin secretion. Because dopamine is involved in the brain’s inhibition of prolactin secretion, the measurement of serum prolactin has been proposed as a way of judging the efficacy of specific antipsychotic medications that act by blocking dopamine receptors.

Lactogenic hormone.

A hormone secreted by the pituitary gland which stimulates the production of milk.

Hormone that stimulates milk production by the mammary cell.

Hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland that stimulates breast development and lactation during pregnancy.

A pituitary hormone that stimulates milk secretion; measured in new mothers with lactation problems, women with menstrual problems, or when brain tumor is suspected.

A hormone made in the pituitary gland that stimulates production of breast milk. Prolactin stimulates a pregnant woman’s mammary glands to begin producing breast milk a few days before childbirth and to continue doing so as long as she breastfeeds her baby. Throughout pregnancy, high levels of estrogen prevent production of milk, but once the baby is born, prolactin begins to stimulate the mammary glands to start producing milk. Milk is not produced when women are not pregnant because the hypothalamus inhibits production of prolactin. When a mother begins to breast-feed her newborn, the act of sucking causes her hypothalamus to stop inhibiting prolactin and her breasts begin to produce milk.

A hormone, synthesized and stored in the anterior pituitary gland, that stimulates milk production after childbirth and also stimulates production of progesterone by the corpus luteum in the ovary. In both sexes excessive secretion of prolactin gives rise to abnormal production of milk (galactorrhea).

The pituitary hormone which initiates lactation (the production of breast milk). If lactation does not occur in a woman who has just given birth, or fails, it may be started by injection of prolactin.

A hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland. In humans, prolactin in association with estrogen and progesterone stimulates breast development and the formation of milk during pregnancy. The act of sucking is an important stimulus for the production of prolactin in the postpartum period. Some of the metabolic effects of prolactin resemble those of growth hormone. In the female this includes amenorrhea, galactorrhea, and infertility. In the male it may cause erectile dysfunction. Hyperprolactinemia may be associated with amenorrhea in women and reduced sexual potency in men. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone and stress of all kinds can stimulate prolactin release.

Hormone secreted by the pituitary gland, primarily associated with breastfeeding; too much prolactin can stop ovulation.

A hormone that is released by the pituitary gland and that stimulates breast development and milk production in women.

The peptide hormone, which emanates from the pituitary gland, has a principal association with lactation.