Sex hormones, also called sex steroids, are steroid hormones that interact with androgen or estrogen receptors.
The non-steroid luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone are usually not regarded as sex hormones, although they play major sex-related roles.
Natural sex steroids are made by the gonads (ovaries or testes), by adrenal glands, or by conversion from other sex steroids in tissues such as liver or fat.