What does -tropin mean in medical terms?

-tropin

Meaning: hormone that stimulates

Type: Suffix

A suffix goes at the very end of a word, after the root. On this page: what -tropin means, and real medical words that use it, each broken down into its parts.

Example words using -tropin

gonadotropin
gonado (gonads) + -tropin (stimulating hormone) = hormone that stimulates the gonads
somatotropin
somato (body) + -tropin (stimulating hormone) = growth hormone; hormone acting on body growth

Shortened forms

Charts and notes shorten long terms — see the Medical Abbreviations guide for the short forms you will meet in real records.

Please note: This section teaches the language of medicine — what word parts mean and how terms are built. It is an educational reference, not medical advice. For the meaning of a word in your own medical record, ask the clinician who wrote it.