A NEW PROCEDURE FOR THE DEMONSTRATION OF ESTRIN IN THE BLOOD OF WOMEN*

Abstract

The pioneer work of Frank and Goldberger, Loewe, Siebke, Mazer, and others demonstrating the presence of the ovarian follicular hormone in the blood of women at different stages of the menstrual cycle has directed attention to the possibilities of adapting such procedures to the study of abnormal menstrual conditions. The relatively large amounts of blood required, the necessary and laborious extraction of the blood, and the yield of insufficient material to inject more than one test animal are, however, disadvantages of the present technique which call for a more efficient and less complicated procedure. The purpose of this report is to present the results of my attempt to develop a simpler method for the determination of the presence of estrin† in the blood, which may be adapted to quantitative as well as qualitative studies. The Allen-Doisy test for estrin is based on the stimulation of the atrophied vaginal mucosa of mice or rats to develop into a cornified squamous epithelium, readily demonstrable by the use of smears. The procedure employed in this study is dependent on the histologic demonstration of certain changes in the vaginal mucosa of recently spayed mice which precede cornification, the most important of which is the formation of tall, columnar cells secreting mucus (mucification). This transformation has been long recognized, and was formerly thought to be a specific effect of a corpus luteum hormone.