Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a derivative of cyclopentano perhydrophenanthrene. It is a cyclic, saturated, monohydroxyl alcohol with a polyhydroxy group. Other steroids are synthesized from cholesterol in the body: adrenal hormones corticosteroids, sex hormones, bile acids. It is synthesized in many cells of the body, but most intensively in the endoplasmic reticulum and cytoplasm of liver and intestinal epithelial cells. Cholesterol is synthesized from acetyl-CoA. It is excreted from the body as free cholesterol in bile or as bile acid salts.

Source | Glossary of Most Commonly Used Biomedical Terms and Concepts | Lithuanian University of Health Sciences | Academician Professor Antanas Praškevičius, Professor Laima Ivanovienė