What is the primary female sex hormone?

What is the primary female sex hormone?

• A. Estrogen
• B. Progesterone
• C. Testosterone
• D. Relaxin

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is which hormone most drives female sexual development and the menstrual cycle. Estrogen, produced mainly by the ovaries, is the dominant female sex hormone. It fuels puberty changes, supports the growth of the reproductive tract, and regulates the menstrual cycle by promoting the thickening of the uterine lining in the first half of the cycle and coordinating feedback to control other hormonal signals. Progesterone is essential for preparing and sustaining the uterine lining in the second half of the cycle and during pregnancy, but it works after estrogen has prepared the lining. Testosterone is primarily the male sex hormone, though women have it in smaller amounts and it doesn’t drive the cycle in the same way. Relaxin is involved mainly in pregnancy to loosen ligaments and prepare the cervix, not in routine female sex-characteristic development. So estrogen is the best answer because it plays the central role in female sexual development and cycle regulation.

The main idea here is which hormone most drives female sexual development and the menstrual cycle. Estrogen, produced mainly by the ovaries, is the dominant female sex hormone. It fuels puberty changes, supports the growth of the reproductive tract, and regulates the menstrual cycle by promoting the thickening of the uterine lining in the first half of the cycle and coordinating feedback to control other hormonal signals.

Progesterone is essential for preparing and sustaining the uterine lining in the second half of the cycle and during pregnancy, but it works after estrogen has prepared the lining. Testosterone is primarily the male sex hormone, though women have it in smaller amounts and it doesn’t drive the cycle in the same way. Relaxin is involved mainly in pregnancy to loosen ligaments and prepare the cervix, not in routine female sex-characteristic development.

So estrogen is the best answer because it plays the central role in female sexual development and cycle regulation.