Serum Progesterone
Overview:
Reviewed by Richard Alweis, MD
Serum progesterone measures the amount of progesterone in the blood. Progesterone is a hormone found in females that prepares the uterus for pregnancy and prepares the breasts for lactation. Males also have progesterone in small amounts, but it probably has little function in their bodies.
Detailed Information:
A doctor withdraws a sample of blood from a woman’s arm, and sends it to a laboratory to analyze the amount of progesterone in the sample. A greater than normal level of progesterone may indicate pregnancy or ovarian cancer. For a woman who is already pregnant, a lower than normal progesterone reading may indicate fetal death, threat of miscarriage or preeclampsia (also known as toxemia of pregnancy). Doctors may also use the test to assess fertility or diagnose an ectopic (not in the uterus) pregnancy.
Last updated: 06-Jun-07
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
Interact on Uterus1 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
Discuss this topic with others.
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
