pregnanediol

9.9

A substance in women's urine that shows levels of the hormone progesterone

noun
/prɛɡˈneɪdɪˌɔl/

Specialized

: pregnanediol

High levels of pregnanediol may indicate increased progesterone production.

Examples

The laboratory tested her urine for pregnanediol as part of the fertility evaluation.
The doctor measured the levels of pregnanediol in her urine.
Elevated pregnanediol levels are commonly found during pregnancy.
During pregnancy, pregnanediol levels increase significantly.
Elevated pregnanediol levels are commonly found during pregnancy.
The laboratory tested her urine for pregnanediol as part of the fertility evaluation.
During pregnancy, pregnanediol levels increase significantly.

Surface Forms

pregnanediol singular

pregnanediols plural

Morphology

pregnanediol = pregnane (opaque) = pregnane + diol

The term is specialized chemical nomenclature (pregnane + chemical suffix 'diol') and is unlikely to be interpretable by an average B1 learner, who may be misled by similarity to 'pregnant'.

Etymology

Pregnanediol comes from pregnan-, like 'pregnancy', plus di- 'two' and -ol 'alcohol'. It is a chemical made when the pregnancy hormone progesterone is changed by the body, so finding pregnanediol in urine helps show how much progesterone there is.