Pseudo-Hermaphroditism

Pseudo-Hermaphroditism: A Multi-Faceted Pathosis

Pseudo-hermaphroditism is a rare condition which has much mystique to it. It is generally due to a deficiency of the enzyme 5α-reductase, responsible for the secretion and conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, which, in turn, defines the external genitalia during embryonic development. As a result of this, individuals present with ambiguous external genitalia, and do not have a def...

On the Atypical Male and Female Sex-Ensemble (So-Called Hermaphroditism and Pseudo-Hermaphroditism)

has celebrated. This poetical and transcendental idea has so dominated the lay and scientific mind that even now the question of hermaphroditism in the mammalia is discussed and supported by the description of specimens with alleged ova and spermatozoa in a common sex gland, or of those where the opposite sex-duct element is unduly represented at the expense, we shall see, of the potent normal ...

Hermaphroditism

Child with True Hermaphroditism

True hermaphrodites possess both ovarian and testicular tissues which may be present in separate gonads or combined in an ovotestis. External and internal genitalia are ambiguous and variable, though a prominent penial structure is usual. Chromosome examination of true hermaphroditism has revealed an XX sex chromosome complement in the majority of cases, but the XY complement and different mosa...

Hermaphroditism: an obsolete diagnosis?

Our aim was to assess to what extent the traditional term ‘hermaphrodite’ is still in use to describe ‘disorders of sex development’ (DSD) as per the terminology recommended by the 2006 Chicago Consensus Statement. For this purpose we systematically searched Pubmed and Scopus using the keywords hermaphroditism, hermaphrodite, pseudohermaphrodite, pseudohermaphroditism and intersex in the title ...