Trophic hormone
Trophic hormone is a hormone that has a growth effect, hyperplasia or hypertrophy, on the tissue it is stimulating. The term is from Ancient Greek meaning "pertaining to food or nourishment", here used to mean "growth"; this is the same origin as atrophy. This should not be confused with , as in the similar-sounding tropic hormone – the words and concepts are both unrelated.
A key example of this is thyroid-stimulating hormone stimulating the thyroid; excess thyroid-stimulating hormone can create a goitre.
Trophic hormones from the anterior pituitary include:
Gastrin is a trophic hormone that causes hyperplasia of enterochromaffin cells which may transform into carcinoid tumors.
