Definition of "cortisone" [cortisone]

• A naturally occurring corticosteroid, C21H28O5, that functions primarily in carbohydrate metabolism and is used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, adrenal insufficiency, certain allergies, and gout. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The typical way to get rid of the inflammation of eczema is to use an anti-inflammatory, in other words a cortisone, to bring the inflammation down."
• "In situations of considerable stress, our adrenal glands produce adrenaline and a group of hormones that I have called "corticoids"; of these, cortisone is perhaps the best known."
• "To medical scientists, cortisone is just as exciting in its possibilities as atomic power is to the physical scientist."