What does human chorionic gonadotropin mean?
Disease description:
My friend asked me to accompany her to the hospital for a physical checkup, and she mentioned something called human chorionic gonadotropin. I don't understand what that means. So I came here to ask: what does human chorionic gonadotropin mean?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Zhang Lu
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a unique glycoprotein produced by cells and holds significant importance in reproductive medicine. In pregnancy diagnosis, measuring the levels of human chorionic gonadotropin is an essential step. The levels of human chorionic gonadotropin rise significantly during early pregnancy, making it one of the clinical indicators for detecting early pregnancy. After the fertilized egg implants into the uterus, the trophoblastic cells of the placenta begin to secrete human chorionic gonadotropin, and its concentration in the blood gradually increases over time.
Therefore, by measuring human chorionic gonadotropin levels, doctors can accurately determine whether a woman is pregnant and assess embryonic development. During testing, physicians typically perform quantitative measurements of human chorionic gonadotropin using blood or urine samples. If the human chorionic gonadotropin level exceeds the normal range, it may indicate that the woman is pregnant.
