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Disorders of sex development

Disorder of sex development (DSD) is a medical term referring to “congenital conditions in which development of chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomical sex is atypical.” Lee et al proposed a system of nomenclature based on “disorders of sex development” for clinical use, noting that “terms such as intersex, pseudohermaphroditism, hermaphroditism, sex reversal, and gender based diagnostic labels are particularly controversial,” may be perceived as pejorative, and are confusing to practitioners and parents alike.

In “We Used to Call Them Hermaphrodites,” author Vilain makes clear that “DSD” is not a synonym for intersexuality; it replaces medical terms based on “hermaphrodite”.

Genetic causes

Australian scientists discovered lately that a extra copy of a perticular gene halts development of testicles.[1] [2]

References

  • Lee, P. A., C. P. Houk, S. F. Ahmed, and I. A. Hughes. 2006. Consensus statement on management of intersex disorders. Pediatrics 118 (2):e488-500.
  • Vilain E, Achermann JC, Eugster EA, Harley VR, Morel Y, Wilson JD, and Hiort O. 2007. We used to call them hermaphrodites. Genetics in Medicine 9 (2):65-66.

See also

  • Intersexuality

Forked from Wikipedia by Jennifer Kirk.