| sterane | The hypothetical parent molecule for any steroid hormone; a saturated hydrocarbon compound that contains no oxygen. The name was originally conceived to achieve forms of systematic nomenclature, but is now supplanted by the fundamental variants: gonane, estrane, androstane, norandrostane (etiane), cholane, cholestane, ergostane, and stigmastane. See: steroids. (05 Mar 2000) |
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