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Endocrine and morphological perspectives in testicular descent

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2009

John M Hutson ,
Marilyn L Baker ,
Amanda L Griffiths ,
Yoshitaka Momose ,
Day Way Goh ,
William Middlesworth ,
Zhou Bai Yun  and
Elizabeth Cartwright
John M Hutson*
Affiliation:
Royal Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Melbourne, Australia
Marilyn L Baker
Affiliation:
Royal Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Melbourne, Australia
Amanda L Griffiths
Affiliation:
Royal Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Melbourne, Australia
Yoshitaka Momose
Affiliation:
Royal Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Melbourne, Australia
Day Way Goh
Affiliation:
Royal Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Melbourne, Australia
William Middlesworth
Affiliation:
Royal Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Melbourne, Australia
Zhou Bai Yun
Affiliation:
Royal Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Melbourne, Australia
Elizabeth Cartwright
Affiliation:
Royal Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Melbourne, Australia
*
John M Hutson, Department of General Surgery, Royal Children's Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.
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Extract

Before sexual differentiation occurs at seven weeks, the urological ridges develop in the embryo. These contain the primitive gonads, the mesonephros (embryonic kidneys) and the paired Wolffian (mesonephric) ducts, along with the Müllerian (paramesonephric) ducts. The fundamental mechanism of fetal sexual development was elucidated by Alfred Jost and is determined by the development of the gonad: where testes form in response to the testis-determining gene, and the male testicular hormones cause development of the male phenotype. If ovaries develop or the gonads are absent, female secondary sex characteristics are produced. Recently, the cloning of the putative human testis-determining gene on the Y-chromosome was reported. Assuming this is the true controller of testicular development, an understanding of the initiation of sexual differentiation at the genetic level should emerge in the near future. Of great importance will be the isolation of the testis-determining gene product and identification of other genes that it regulates.

Type
Articles
Information
Reproductive Medicine Review , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , July 1992 , pp. 165 - 177
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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