• Group of compounds derived from unsaturated 20-carbon fatty acids, primarily arachidonic acid, via the cyclooxygenase pathway; extremely potent mediators of a diverse group of physiological processes.
  CRISP Thesaurus
  National Institutes of Health, 2006
• One of several hormone-like substances made by the body. Different PGs control blood pressure, contraction of smooth muscles, and other processes within tissues where they are made. Certain PGs are being studied as cancer biomarkers.
  NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• A group of chemicals that have hormone-like actions; prostaglandins help regulate blood pressure and contraction of smooth-muscle cells (for example, those in the lining of the blood vessels).
  Harvard Dictionary of Health Terms
  Harvard Medical Publishing, 2011
• A group of compounds derived from unsaturated 20-carbon fatty acids, primarily arachidonic acid, via the cyclooxygenase pathway. They are extremely potent mediators of a diverse group of physiological processes.
  NLM Medical Subject Headings
  U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
• Prostaglandin, any of a group of physiologically active substances having diverse hormonelike effects in animals. Prostaglandins were discovered in human semen in 1935 by the Swedish physiologist Ulf von Euler, who named them, thinking that they were secreted by the prostate gland. The...
  Encyclopedia Britannica
  Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2025