[Hermaphrodites and intersexed individuals from myth to reality. Second part].
It was not until the nineteenth century that the heavy repressive measures usually taken against intersexed individuals were somewhat alleviated and a genuinely scientific approach to intersexuality began to be promoted. A first step was the application of the concept of pseudo-hermaphroditism to cases in which the external and/or internal sexual organs did not correspond to the gonadal sex. Through experimental application of the bovine freemartin model, the role of male hormones in embryonic sexual differentiation was able to be elucidated. Consequently, modern endocrinology has contributed significantly to the understanding of various types of intersexuality such as, for instance, the female adreno-genital syndrome and peripheral tissue insensitivity to androgens. Finally, chromosomal and molecular genetics have enabled the localisation of the genes responsible for sexual differentiation and allowed an understanding of the different causes of intersexed cases belonging to the vast chapter of gonadal dysgnesis. Some associations of patients are currently questioning medical and surgical treatments which aim at the production of strict sexual differentiation in morphologically ambiguous individuals.
Leroy
Fernand
F
l'Université Libre de Bruxelles.
D012734:Disorders of Sex Development / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics / Q000266:history*; D005260:Female; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000235:genetics