Human Embryology and Teratology

Teaching text  11: Genital system  33: Malformations and anomalies 6


Hermaphrodites have both male and female sexes. True hermaphroditism is a condition where both testicular and ovarian tissue is present. The testicular tissue may be found in one gonad and the ovarian tissue in the other gonad. Both testicular and ovarian tissue may occur in the same gonad (ovotestis).
In pseudohermaphroditism, the sex of the genotype is different from the sex of the phenotype. Female pseudohermaphrodites have the karyotype 46, XX. Even though they have ovaries, they look like a male. Male pseudohermaphrodites have the karyotype 46, XY. They possess testicles, but are of female phenotype.

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