Hermaphroditism

A condition in which a person has both male and female characteristics.


A genetic abnormality in which a person is born with both male and female sex organs. The cause of this abnormality is not well understood. In one form of the disorder, during embryonic development, abnormalities in cell division occur that provide the baby with cells with 46 XY chromosomes as well as cells with 46 XX chromosomes. Typically, in an individual with hermaphroditism, the penis is small or incomplete and one or both testes may or may not appear, while a uterus, oviducts, and a vagina are present. Various patterns occur: a hermaphroditic baby can have an ovary on one side and a testis on the other; a testis on one side and an ovo-testis, containing both ovary and testis, on the other side; or an ovary on one side and an ovo-testis on the other.


A condition in which both ovarian and testicular tissue exist in the same individual, occurring rarely in humans.


True hermaphroditism is a rare congenital disorder characterized by the presence of both male and female gonads (testes and ovaries) in one individual, with ambiguous external genitalia that do not clearly appear male or female. The cause of true hermaphroditism remains unknown. A more common condition is pseudohermaphroditism, where an individual possesses the gonads of only one sex but exhibits external genitalia that are not distinctly male or female, or may resemble those of the opposite sex.


 


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