The Role of Corticosteroids in Today's Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Corticosteroids are group of hormones with similar chemical formulas which are secreted by adrenal cortex. The very slight differences in molecular structure of various corticosteroids give them very different functions. The hormonal steroids are classified according to their biologic effects as glucocorticoids, which mainly affect intermediary metabolism and the immune system, and mineralocorticoids , which have principally a saltretaining activity. Of large number of steroids released into the circulation by adrenal cortex, two are of greater importance – aldosterone, which is a mineralocorticoid, and cortisol, which is a glucocorticoid.