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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 of 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.