Main Entry: Asch·heim–Zon·dek test

Pronunciation: \ˈäsh-ˌ(h)īm-ˈzän-dik-, -ˈtsän-\

Function: noun

: a test formerly used especially to determine human pregnancy in its early stages on the basis of the effect of a subcutaneous injection of the patient's urine on the ovaries of an immature female mouse

Asch·heim \ˈäsh-ˌ(h)īm\ , Selmor Samuel (1878–1965), and Zon·dek \ˈtsȯn-ˌdek\ , Bernhard (1891–1966), German obstetrician-gynecologists. In 1927 Aschheim and Zondek demonstrated that gonadotropic hormones are produced by the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland. They also isolated a gonadotropin now known as human chorionic gonadotropin in the urine of pregnant women. These discoveries led to the development in 1928 of their test for pregnancy. Zondek was also the author of a major work on the hormones of the ovary and the anterior pituitary.