15,476
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Wikify.
| align="center" | 1749 illustration<br>ambiguous genitalia
|}
'''Ambiguous genitalia''' appear as a large [[clitoris]] or as a small [[penis]].
Male and female genitals typically include a phallus (the penis in males, [[clitoris]] in females) and the urethral opening. There is also labioscrotal tissue: the scrotum in males, the [[labia majora]] on females.
Variations in the amount of testosterone or the fetal reaction to it during the development of the genitals may cause male genitals to be underdeveloped or feminized, or female genitals to become masculinized with what is known as a "hypertrophic" [[clitoris]] or [[clitoromegaly]].
When the male genital is underdeveloped and the meatus is located on the ventral aspect of the penis, rather than the center of the glans, it is called hypospadiac. There are varying degrees with hypospadias, with the more severe ones presenting the urethral opening as a small cloacal opening that looks like a small [[vagina]].
When the female genital is masculinized, the [[clitoris]] becomes enlarged looking like a small [[penis]]. The urethral opening may even migrate to the glans of the [[clitoris]]. In severe cases the vaginal opening may seal.
The degree of virilization of genitalia can be described using the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prader_scale Prader scale] A similar scale is used to describe the degree of feminization of the genitals of children with XY chromosomes, the Quigley scale.