What is "norethisterone"

n. 19-nor-17α-ethynyltestosterone, a progestogen used in some combined oral contraceptives.

Norethisterone ( INN, BAN), also known as norethindrone ( USAN), as well as 19-nor-17α-ethynyltestosterone, but more commonly known under its trade name Utovlan®, is a steroidal progestin used in some combined oral contraceptive pills and progestogen-only pills, and also available as a standalone drug. It can be used to treat premenstrual syndrome, painful periods, abnormal heavy bleeding, irregular periods, menopausal syndrome (in combination with estrogen), or to postpone a period. It is also commonly used to help prevent uterine hemorrhage in complicated non-surgical or pre-surgical gynecologic cases and in treating non responsive cyclical mastalgia. Norethisterone was the first orally highly active progestin to be synthesized.

It was synthesized for the first time by chemists Luis Miramontes, Carl Djerassi, and George Rosenkranz at Syntex in Mexico City in 1951. It was the progestin used in one of the first three oral contraceptives. Its related ester, norethisterone acetate, is used for the same indications. Norethisterone was first introduced, as Norlutin, in 1957.