Allen-Doisy unit

A unit of quantity of estrogen, determined by the Allen-Doisy test; the least amount of estrogen that produces a change in the vaginal epithelium of a spayed mouse, namely, disappearance of leukocytes and appearance cornified cells .

Also called the mouse unit and the mouse vaginal unit. Named for the originators of the test, Edgar V. Allen (1892 – 1943), an anatomist, and Edward Adelbert Doisy (1893 – 1986), a biochemist.