There are five major classes of steroid hormones: testosterone (androgen), estradiol (estro‐-gen), progesterone (progestin), cortisol/corticosterone (glucocorticoid), and aldosterone (mineralocorticoids). Testosterone and its more potent metabolite dihydrotestosterone (DHT), progesterone and estradiol are classified as sex-steroids, whereas cortisol/corticoster‐-one and aldosterone are collectively referred to as corticosteroids.

Sex steroids are crucial hormones for the proper development and function of the body; they regulate sexual differentiation, the secondary sex characteristics, and sexual behavior pat‐-terns. Sex hormones production is sexually dimorphic, and involves differences not only in hormonal action but also in regulation and temporal patterns of production. Gonadal sex ste‐-roids effects are mediated by slow genomic mechanisms through nuclear receptors as well as by fast nongenomic mechanisms through membrane-associated receptors and signaling cas‐-cades. The term sexsteroids is nearly alwayssynonymouswith sexhormones (Wikipedia).