The measurement of human gonadotrophins by radioimmunoassay

Introduction The study of the gonadotrophins may be considered to have begun, perhaps, with the observation by Crowe, Cushing & Homans (1910) that gonadal atrophy invariably followed hypophysectomy in dogs. A decade elapsed, however, before Evans & Long (1921) demonstrated the effect of intraperitoneal administration of anterior pituitary tissue on oestrus and ovulation. Zondek (1930), after a series of papers on the biological properties of these pituitary factors, first used the terms Prolan A, now called follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and Prolan B, now called luteinizing hormone (LH). Forty years passed before the existence in man of the third gonadotrophin, prolactin, was finally established.