what are tropic hormones

Tropic hormones are a group of hormones that stimulate other endocrine glands to produce their particular hormones. Most tropic hormones are produced and secreted by the anterior pituitary, and they have other endocrine glands as their target. The hypothalamus also secretes tropic hormones that target the anterior pituitary, and the thyroid gland secretes thyroxine, which targets the hypothalamus and can be considered a tropic hormone. The production and release of these tropic hormones are controlled by neurohormones from the hypothalamus. Tropic hormones are contrasted with non-tropic hormones, which directly stimulate target cells. Examples of tropic hormones from the anterior pituitary include thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and growth hormone (GH) .