The enzymatic reactions involved in the biosynthesis of cholesterol do not necessarily occur in a set order. Similar reactions occur in the formation of other C₂₇ sterols and related compounds. Plant sterols are derived from cycloartenol. The initial stages are slightly different from the lanosterol pathway.

When cursor points to a box further details will be displayed in a tooltip window. If you click on the box it will change to the appropriate reaction scheme or enzyme specification.