ABSTRACT
Techniques for the assessment of urinary estrogens can largely be classified into four groups: methods dependent on a colorimetric reaction, methods dependent on a fluorimetric reaction, gas-liquid chromatography procedures, and radioimmunoassay techniques. Three estrogens — estriol, estradiol, and estrone — have long been identified as the most important physiologically and are excreted in the urine mainly as the conjugates of glucuronide and sulfate. Although many techniques for the determination of estrogens from nonpregnancy urine are available, the semiautomatic fluorimetric procedure of Brown et al. would, in the routine clinical situation, appear to be the method of choice. The main clinical application of estrogen determination outside of pregnancy has been in the investigation of ovarian and pituitary function in cases of primary and secondary amenorrhea. Measurement of plasma estrogens reveals a similar pattern. Thus, it can be seen that observing the plasma or urinary estrogen pattern is a very useful tool in evaluating reproductive function in the female.
