= Androgen
An <androgen> is a <hormone> that promotes development and maintenance of male sex characteristics. Endogenous examples include <testosterone> and <dihydrotestosterone>. The term identifies a class of biological signals, while each member has its own chemical structure and metabolic transformations.<Androgen in the NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms>[definition]{ref}<Structure of human steroid 5α-reductase 2 with the anti-androgen drug finasteride by Qingpin Xiao and others>[Introduction, testosterone-to-dihydrotestosterone conversion]{ref}
Classifying a hormone by an important function does not specify every location where it is made: <testosterone> is produced prominently by the <testis> and also in smaller amounts by the <ovary (anatomy)>.<Anatomy and Physiology 2e by J. Gordon Betts and others>[§17.8, gonadal hormone production]{ref}
Two conversions illustrate why the individual compound still matters. Reduction of <testosterone> produces the androgen <dihydrotestosterone>; <aromatase> instead can convert testosterone into the <estrogen> <estradiol>.<Improved FSH sensitisation and aromatase assay in human granulosa-lutein cells by A. Lambert and others>[Abstract, substrate challenge and estradiol production]{ref} Following total steroid material would not distinguish those outcomes. A useful assay names the precursor, product and relevant response, rather than treating every related steroid as the same hormonal signal.
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