somatostatin
a polypeptide hormone, produced in the brain and pancreas, that inhibits secretion of somatotropin from the hypothalamus and inhibits insulin production by the pancreas.
Origin of somatostatin
1Words Nearby somatostatin
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for somatostatin
/ (ˌsəʊmətəˈstætɪn) /
a peptide hormone that prevents the release of growth hormone from the pituitary gland
Origin of somatostatin
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for somatostatin
[ sō-măt′ə-stăt′n, sō′mə-tə- ]
A polypeptide produced by the hypothalamus and the pancreas. Somatostatin produced by the hypothalamus acts as a neurohormone that inhibits the secretion of other hormones, especially growth hormone and thyrotropin. Somatostatin secreted by the pancreas acts as a hormone that inhibits the secretion of the other pancreatic hormones, insulin and glucagon, and reduces the activity of the digestive system.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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