Sexual differentiation

Sexual differentiation is the development of reproductive anatomy and other bodily traits along sex-associated pathways. It includes processes that produce variation in chromosomes, gonads, internal and external genitalia, and secondary sex characteristics.

Sex-determining region Y: A gene on the Y chromosome whose protein product initiates testis development in many mammals. Its expression can start the pathway toward testis formation.
Sex chromosome: A chromosome whose genes contribute to sex determination and reproductive development. Chromosomal patterns can initiate or alter developmental signals, but do not alone specify every bodily trait.
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia: A group of inherited disorders that impair adrenal steroid synthesis, often increasing androgen exposure before birth. In some affected individuals, excess prenatal androgens alter external genital development.
Sex determination: The processes that establish a developmental pathway associated with reproductive sex. Determination concerns pathway initiation; differentiation concerns the bodily traits that develop afterward.
Gonadal development: The formation and differentiation of gonads from embryonic tissues. The initially undifferentiated gonad becomes an ovary or testis along developmental pathways.
Gonad: An organ that produces gametes and sex hormones, such as an ovary or testis. Gonads are a major source of signals that guide later reproductive development.
Complete androgen insensitivity syndrome: A condition in which people with a Y chromosome and testes have tissues unable to respond to androgens. It demonstrates that androgen reception, not hormone presence alone, affects bodily development.
Sexual dimorphism: Systematic differences in form between individuals of different sexes within a species. Dimorphism describes observed differences, whereas differentiation names the processes producing them.
Anti-Müllerian hormone: A hormone produced by fetal Sertoli cells that causes Müllerian ducts to regress. It helps determine which internal reproductive structures persist in typical male development.
Müllerian duct: An embryonic duct that can develop into the uterus, uterine tubes, and upper vagina. Its persistence or regression is one outcome of fetal hormone signaling.

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