Cholesterol is one of the most common steroids and is found in almost all animal body tissues, particularly the nervous system, liver, kidneys, and skin. It forms part of cell membranes. Cholesterol is synthesized in the liver and other organs, and the body uses it to produce other steroids. Its buildup in arteries has long been associated with increased risk of heart disease. The body uses cholesterol as the basis for synthesizing vitamin D, cortisone, adrenal gland hormones, and sex hormones.

During the late 18th century, cholesterol from gallstones became one of the first of the steroids to be studied and crystallized. In 1816, the French chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul named it "cholesterine," from the Greek words for bile and solid. In 1859, the French chemist Pierre Eugène Marcelin Berthelot showed it was an alcohol and the name was changed to cholesterol. In the 1840s it...