FRHD 2100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: X Chromosome, Seminiferous Tubule, Gender Dysphoria
30 Nov 2017
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Document Summary
Sexual differentiation is the process by which males and females develop distinct reproductive anatomy. The chromosomes from each parent combine to form 23 pairs. An ovum carries an x sex chromosome whereas sperm carries either an x or y chromosome. If a sperm with an x chromosome fertilize the ovum, the newly conceived embryo will develop normally as a female, with an xx sex chromosomal structure. At about three weeks, a primitive heart begins to drive blood through the embryonic bloodstream. At six weeks, it has a pair of sexually undifferentiated gonads, two sets of primitive duct structures called the millerian (female) ducts and the wolffian (male) ductsm and primitive external genitals whose sex cannot be visually distinguished. During the first six weeks or so of prenatal development, embryonic structures of both genders develop along similar lines, resembling primitive female structures.
