Oxytocin
Oxytocin was first discovered in 1906, when Sir Henry Dale extracted the neuropeptide from the posterior pituitary gland. This substance was later called oxytocin – oxy- meaning acid or sharp, and -tocin meaning birth; (however it has been suggested that it should have been ocytocin, as ocy- means fast, and as originally used oxytocin refers to the process of a swift birth). Language aside, Sir Dale found that the extract caused uterine contractions in cats, and as early as 1911 …