Hormones and Endocrine Tests
The Tests (15)
Aldosterone Renin Ratio
Compares two blood hormones that control salt and blood pressure, used to screen for primary aldosteronism; many blood-pressure drugs can distort the result.
Read the deep dive →Testosterone
Measures total, free and bioavailable testosterone in blood, used to evaluate low testosterone in men and excess androgens in women, as in PCOS.
Read the deep dive →ACTH Stimulation Test
Blood cortisol is measured before and after an injection of synthetic ACTH, the standard test for diagnosing adrenal insufficiency such as Addison's disease.
Read the deep dive →AMH
A blood hormone from growing ovarian follicles, used to estimate a woman's remaining egg supply; unlike FSH, it stays fairly stable across the cycle.
Read the deep dive →PTH
Measures the parathyroid glands' calcium-regulating hormone, read alongside blood calcium to sort out hyperparathyroidism, hypoparathyroidism and kidney-related bone problems.
Read the deep dive →Cortisol Test
The adrenal stress hormone, measured in blood, saliva or urine to check for Cushing's or Addison's disease; levels swing widely through the day.
Read the deep dive →Hormone Panel
Groups cortisol, DHEA-S, testosterone, estradiol, progesterone, FSH, LH, insulin and IGF-1 to look at adrenal, reproductive and metabolic hormones side by side.
Read the deep dive →Thyroid Panel
Combines TSH, free T4, free T3, reverse T3 and thyroid antibodies to trace hormone production, conversion and autoimmunity rather than relying on TSH alone.
Read the deep dive →TSH
The pituitary's signal to the thyroid and the most-ordered thyroid blood test; it runs opposite to thyroid output, and high-dose biotin can distort it.
Read the deep dive →DHEA S
The body's most abundant adrenal steroid and a precursor to sex hormones, used to assess adrenal function and PCOS; it declines steeply with age.
Read the deep dive →IGF-1
A liver-made blood hormone that serves as a steady stand-in for growth hormone, used to investigate acromegaly or deficiency; results are read against age.
Read the deep dive →Beta hCG
Blood test measuring the exact amount of the placenta's pregnancy hormone, used to date early pregnancy and flag ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage.
Read the deep dive →SHBG
A liver protein that carries sex hormones in blood, used to work out free testosterone; low levels can signal insulin resistance early.
Read the deep dive →Anti TPO Antibodies
Looks for antibodies the immune system aims at the thyroid, helping show whether a thyroid problem is autoimmune, as in Hashimoto's or Graves' disease.
Read the deep dive →Reverse T3
Measures reverse T3, an inactive look-alike of thyroid hormone that rises in serious illness; specialists and integrative practitioners disagree about when it is useful.
Read the deep dive →Thyroid, adrenal, pituitary and sex hormones, plus the stimulation tests used when a single level is not enough to interpret.