hCG is the acronym for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, a substance produced by the placenta during pregnancy in huge amounts. It was discovered by Ascheim and Zondek in the urine of pregnant women, back as 1927.

After its discovery, scientists tried to find a name for this substance, and when they observed that the administration of hCG helped to provoke ovulation in experimentation animals, they named their discovery Gonadotropin, that means it has an action on gonads (testicles or ovaries) and Chorionic because later it was found was produced by the Chorium of the placenta.