| feminization | Development of what are superficially external female characteristics by a male. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| testicular feminization | A condition, due to lack of cellular receptors for testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, in which the subject is phenotypically female but lacks nuclear sex chromatin and is of xy chromosomal sex. The uterus and tubes are absent or rudimentary, and the gonads are typically testes and may be abdominal or inguinal in position. The incomplete form is marked by partial fusion of the labioscrotal folds and clitoromegaly, and at puberty, variable feminization and partial virilization may both take place. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| testicular feminization syndrome | <syndrome> A type of male pseudohermaphroditism characterised by female external genitalia (may be ambiguous if the syndrome is incomplete), incompletely developed vagina often with rudimentary uterus and fallopian tubes, female habitus at puberty but with scanty or absent axillary and pubic hair and amenorrhoea, and testes present within the abdomen or in the inguinal canals or labia majora; epididymis and vas deferens are usually present; androgens and oestrogens are formed, but target tissues are largely unresponsive to androgens; individuals are sex chromatin-negative and have a normal male karyotype; X-linked recessive inheritance; there is a defect in the androgen receptor protein. (05 Mar 2000) |