Question:
Which of the following methods for assessment of female fertility during a menstrual cycle can best predict the timing of ovulation?
Which of the following methods for assessment of female fertility during a menstrual cycle can best predict the timing of ovulation?
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BBT only tells you afterward; the LH surge tells you it is coming.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- Basal body temperature (BBT)
- Fern test
- Spinnbarkeit phenomenon
- Hormonal study
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Verified By Collegedunia
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understand the difference between predicting ovulation and confirming it. To predict means to know it is about to happen so the couple can time intercourse; to confirm means to show it already happened.
Step 2: Evaluate each clinical method.
Basal body temperature (option A): the temperature rises by about 0.3 to 0.5 degrees Celsius only after ovulation, because of progesterone from the corpus luteum. So BBT confirms past ovulation, it does not predict it.
Fern test (option B): cervical mucus dries in a fern pattern under estrogen before ovulation, but it is qualitative and indirect.
Spinnbarkeit (option C): the stretchability of cervical mucus increases near mid-cycle under estrogen; again indirect and observer dependent.
Step 3: Evaluate hormonal study (option D). Measuring the LH surge in serum or urine pinpoints the trigger of ovulation, which follows the surge by roughly 24 to 36 hours. Serial estradiol and LH levels track the cycle precisely. This is the most accurate and direct way to predict the timing of ovulation.
Step 4: Since the question asks for the best predictor, the objective hormonal assay (LH surge) beats the indirect mucus tests and the retrospective BBT. The answer is option D, Hormonal study.
Step 2: Evaluate each clinical method.
Basal body temperature (option A): the temperature rises by about 0.3 to 0.5 degrees Celsius only after ovulation, because of progesterone from the corpus luteum. So BBT confirms past ovulation, it does not predict it.
Fern test (option B): cervical mucus dries in a fern pattern under estrogen before ovulation, but it is qualitative and indirect.
Spinnbarkeit (option C): the stretchability of cervical mucus increases near mid-cycle under estrogen; again indirect and observer dependent.
Step 3: Evaluate hormonal study (option D). Measuring the LH surge in serum or urine pinpoints the trigger of ovulation, which follows the surge by roughly 24 to 36 hours. Serial estradiol and LH levels track the cycle precisely. This is the most accurate and direct way to predict the timing of ovulation.
Step 4: Since the question asks for the best predictor, the objective hormonal assay (LH surge) beats the indirect mucus tests and the retrospective BBT. The answer is option D, Hormonal study.
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