Intersex is a group of conditions in which there is a discrepancy between the external genitals and the internal genitals (the testes and ovaries). The older term for this condition is hermaphroditism.
People who are intersex have genitals, chromosomes or reproductive organs that don't fit into a male/female sex binary. Their genitals might not match their reproductive organs, or they may have traits of both. Being intersex may be evident at birth, childhood, later in adulthood or never.
The androgyne (from the Greek andros, "man," and gune, "woman") is a creature that is half male and half female.
An intersex baby may: Appear female on the outside but have mostly male anatomy on the inside, or vice versa. Have genitals that seem to be in between male and female. Have some cells with female chromosomes (XX) and some with male (XY).
A hermaphrodite is a person (or plant or animal) that has both male and female sexual organs. Hermaphrodites are rare. This is an unusual word for an unusual condition: being a boy and a girl at the same time. This happens to a small number of people who have the reproductive organs of both men and women.
Intersex itself is not a disorder, rather a variation. But Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, for instance, is an inherited disorder affecting adrenal function.
Some intersex people have both testes and ovaries. You may be able to get pregnant on your own, if you also have a uterus. However, if you have testes, they may be releasing more testosterone than would be optimal for conception and pregnancy.
But how do you pick a child's gender if she or he is intersex? The child is assigned a gender as boy or girl after tests (hormonal, genetic, radiological) have been done and the parents have consulted with the doctors on which gender the child is more likely to feel as she or he grows up.
Yes, hermaphrodites have both working parts -- the male and female reproductive systems. However, only simultaneous hermaphrodites can have both reproductive systems at the same time.
In biology, androgyny refers to individuals with fully developed sexual organs of both sexes, also called hermaphrodites. Body build and other physical characteristics of these individuals are a blend of normal male and female features.
In Greek mythology, a drakaina (Ancient Greek: δράκαινα) is a female serpent or dragon, sometimes with humanlike features.
The phrase "half woman, half girl" is a poetic way of saying that as a youth, she was not yet an adult, but not a child either. There were probably some ways in which she felt similar to an adult and other ways she felt similar to a child.
If a person's genitals look different from what doctors and nurses expect when they're born, someone might be identified as intersex from birth. Other times, someone might not know they're intersex until later in life, like when they go through puberty.
True hermaphrodites are quite rare and almost always infertile. On review of the literature we noted only 10 previously documented cases of fertility in a true hermaphrodite.
By definition, hermaphrodites produce both small, more numerous gametes (sperm), and large, less numerous gametes (ova).
The most common gonad variant found in a true hermaphrodite is an ovotestis, with 50% being found in ovarian position on the right hand side. Ovaries are present in 33% of cases while testicles are found in 22% [4].
Significant gynecomastia is evident at puberty in approximately 75% of individuals with true hermaphroditism. Approximately 50% of these individuals menstruate. For the phenotypic male with true hermaphroditism, menstruation presents as cyclic hematuria.
In rare cases, intersex babies need emergency surgery when they are born — for example, if they are unable to urinate properly. But in the vast majority of cases, the operations are done to prevent a child from suffering presumed psychological distress later in life, experts said.
Intersex variation is a natural biological event that is likely to happen in about 17 in every 1,000 live births (1.7%). The is about the same as the number of people with red hair.
It is estimated that up to 1.7 percent of the population has an intersex trait and that approximately 0.5 percent of people have clinically identifiable sexual or reproductive variations.
Here's what we do know: If you ask experts at medical centers how often a child is born so noticeably atypical in terms of genitalia that a specialist in sex differentiation is called in, the number comes out to about 1 in 1500 to 1 in 2000 births.
Abstract. Background: There are 11 reported cases of pregnancy in true hermaphrodites, but none with advanced genetic testing. All known fetuses have been male. Case: A true hermaphrodite with a spontaneous pregnancy prenatally known to have a remaining portion of a right ovotestis, delivered a male neonate.
It has also been estimated that more than 525 have been documented.
During early development the gonads of the fetus remain undifferentiated; that is, all fetal genitalia are the same and are phenotypically female. After approximately 6 to 7 weeks of gestation, however, the expression of a gene on the Y chromosome induces changes that result in the development of the testes.