Estradiol Test

The purpose behind an estradiol test is to measure how much of the hormone estradiol is present in the blood. Estradiol is a form of estrogen, and is perceived to be the most important hormone in the body. Most of the body's estradiol is created within the ovaries, the placenta and the adrenal cortex. It is the hormone responsible for womb, vagina and fallopian tube development. It also plays a role in breast and outer genital development too. Estradiol can also play a role in how women develop body fat.

Testing for estradiol levels is simple and only requires a traditional venipuncture, which is your average blood test. When blood is drawn with venipuncture, the physicians will then analyze the blood in order to determine how the adrenal gland, the ovaries and the placenta are working. This test will also benefit physicians in determining if there are any signs or symptoms of an ovarian tumor, if there are any female or male body characteristics that are not developing normally and if the menstrual cycle has ceased.

Both men and women have estradiol in their bodies. For men, the normal result is between 10 and 50 picograms per mililiter or pg/mL. For premenopausal women, the typical result is between 30 and 400. For postmenopausal women, the average is between 0 and 30. Abnormal results may suggest the presence of an ovarian tumor, Turner syndrome, low estrogen production or ovarian failure.