Meaning & use
aldosterone
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountabletechnicalmedical
A hormone made by the adrenal glands that helps the body keep the right balance of salt and water and control blood pressure.
Grammar: No plural and no article: aldosterone levels rise; not 'an aldosterone'.
Patterns
- aldosterone levels
- the release of aldosterone
- aldosterone secretion
When blood pressure drops, the body releases aldosterone to hold on to sodium.
Doctors measured her aldosterone levels to find the cause of her high blood pressure.
Too much aldosterone can lead to fluid retention and low potassium.
Common combinations
- aldosterone levels
- Blood tests showed that his aldosterone levels were unusually high.
- release aldosterone
- The adrenal glands release aldosterone when the body needs to save sodium.
- aldosterone secretion
- Aldosterone secretion increases during long periods of sweating.
- block aldosterone
- Some blood-pressure drugs block aldosterone to reduce fluid in the body.
Word family
- aldosteronism noun
- A medical condition caused by too much aldosterone.
Commonly confused: aldosterone or cortisol? aldosterone or testosterone?
aldosterone vs cortisol
'Cortisol' is another hormone from the adrenal glands, but it mainly controls stress and metabolism, not salt balance.
aldosterone vs testosterone
'Testosterone' sounds similar but is a sex hormone; it has nothing to do with salt or water balance.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'aldosterone' correctly.
Choose one answer.
'Aldosterone' is uncountable and is used before another noun as 'aldosterone levels'. Option 1 wrongly makes it plural, option 2 wrongly uses 'an' with an uncountable noun, and option 3 wrongly adds a possessive.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “aldosterone”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.