Sexual differentiation
| Sexual differentiation | |
|---|---|
Differentiation of the male and female reproductive systems does not occur until the fetal period of development. | |
| Anatomical terminology |
Sexual differentiation is the process of development of the sex differences between males and females from an undifferentiated zygote.[1][2] Sex differentiation is usually distinct from sex determination; sex determination is the designation of the development stage towards either male or female, while sex differentiation is the pathway towards the development of the phenotype.[3]
In many species, testicular or ovarian differentiation begins with the appearance of Sertoli cells in males and granulosa cells in females.[4][5]
As embryos develop into mature adults, sex differences develop at many levels, including chromosomes, gonads, hormones, and anatomy. Beginning with determining sex by genetic and/or environmental factors, humans and other organisms proceed towards different differentiation pathways as they grow and develop.
- ^ Beukeboom, Leo W.; Perrin, Nicolas (2014). The Evolution of Sex Determination. Oxford University Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0199657148.
- ^ Koob, George F. (2010). Encyclopedia of Behavioral Neuroscience. Elsevier. p. 21. ISBN 978-0080914558.
- ^ Beukeboom LW, Perrin N (2014). The Evolution of Sex Determination. Oxford University Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-19-965714-8.
- ^ Pandian, T. J. (2013-05-07). Endocrine Sex Differentiation in Fish. CRC Press. doi:10.1201/b14771. ISBN 978-0-429-10222-6.
- ^ Bouma, Gerrit J.; Hudson, Quanah J.; Washburn, Linda L.; Eicher, Eva M. (February 2010). "New candidate genes identified for controlling mouse gonadal sex determination and the early stages of granulosa and Sertoli cell differentiation". Biology of Reproduction. 82 (2): 380–389. doi:10.1095/biolreprod.109.079822. ISSN 1529-7268. PMC 2809227. PMID 19864314.