Concentrations of circulating steroids in normal prepubertal and adult male and female humans, chimpanzees, rhesus monkeys, rats, mice, and hamsters: a literature survey.

Radioimmunoassay (RIA) data on concentrations of circulating steroids in normal prepubertal and adult male and female humans, chimpanzees, rhesus monkeys, rats, mice, and hamsters have been collated from the literature. Few reports include data for both sexes, for age groups, or for more than one species. In selecting references for inclusion in the tables, efforts were made to choose data only from RIA procedures that were adequately validated. A number of similarities can be found by reviewing the tables. Levels of estradiol appear somewhat similar for humans, chimpanzees, and rhesus monkeys of both sexes. Among the notable differences are the levels of estradiol and progesterone in primates and rodents, the apparently high level of aldosterone in mice, and the patterns of progesterone secretion in mice and rats. All values in the tables have been converted to picograms for easy comparison between steroids and species. Data for humans are fairly complete, but there is a significant lack of information for several other species.