THE HORMONES IN HUMAN REPRODUCTION 



and that he comprehends the general significance of simple 

 formulas such as that of ethyl alcohol and benzene : 



H 



I I 



C C — OH 



HC 



HC 



^ 



^. 





H H 



ETHYL ALCOHOL 



BENZENE 



The basic hydrocarbon of the sex gland hormones. All the 

 naturally occurring sex gland hormones can be understood in 

 relation to certain basic hydrocarbons. One of these, called 

 estrane, has the following structure: 



CH2 



CH2 



HpC 



H2C 



ESTRANE 



For the sake of convenience we number the carbon atoms 

 arbitrarily, as shown in the diagram. We can save time and 

 trouble henceforth by omitting the obvious CH's, as follows : 



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