As we all know, males and females are different, anatomically. A discussion of how chromosomes, genes and hormones contribute to development of these differences illustrates how intricate these processes are. It also becomes clear how easy it is for one or more of these steps to falter and for the embryo to veer away from the standard course of sex development.

 

  • Select topics in the sidebar to learn more about how sex development usually unfolds during fetal life.
  • More detailed, technical discussion can be found in For clinicians and scientists (not yet constructed).

 

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Last updated: 15 July 2015

Edit history: Author P. Koopman 9/09; revised PK 5/11, 9/12, 5/13, 10/13.