[1] From the urine of pregnant women from London clinics, Guy Frederic Marrian isolated a substance that contained two hydroxyl groups and could be converted into a diacetate with acetic anhydride.

[2] Almost at the same time, Adolf Butenandt at the Chemical University Laboratory in Göttingen investigated the constituents of pregnant urine and clarified the structure of the diol.

This gave rise to the name pregnane for the underlying parent hydrocarbon.

Since progesterone levels indicate the functionality of a corpus luteum, and pregnanediol concentration represents 40-45% of the progesterone excreted, estimations of pregnanediol reveal the functionality of a corpus luteum.

[4] Furthermore, current research has demonstrated that pregnanediol concentration in urine is also a measure of ovarian activity.